One Piece Amber Eyed Pirates
by Tsar Lawrence III
Summary: Twenty years have passed since Luffy's time.  Now new pirates search for the Second Pirate King's treasure and fight for the title of the Third Pirate King...but what about these Archangel Weapons?  DEAD FIC
1. Ruby Arc I

**A/N: Okay, please please PLEASE forgive me, but it wasn't my fault the last One Piece fanfic by moi got taken down, I swear. First off I accidentally left my account open and someone deleted it, IDK who. I would have reposted had my computer not crashed with the OP file still on it. So I became über depressed but decided to rewrite a new OP story, one I WILL finish even if I grow to hate it. This one is different then all my others, but I feel it better so I don't have to deal with conflicts with the actual OP storyline. Anyway, please forgive me and submit your OCs.**

Chapter 1

_Twenty years ago, the Second Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy had it all; wealth, fame and power. Until the day he decided to hang it all up._

_Brought to the gallows of his predecessor Gol D. Roger, the Second Pirate King was executed for his crimes._

"_Heehee, that was fun!" The Seconnd King had said as he waited for his punishment. "Go on guys, find the One Piece again!"_

_And with those words, his idiotic smile as he died and the straw hat being burned to a crisp, the Second Age of Pirates had begun. And the world would have been much better without it._

* * *

The denizens of the small island town in the North Blue began to panic as the pirate ship approached. A town such as this, so out of the way and secluded, rarely saw pirates and as such had very little protection against them. So now they would just hope the pirates would take what they wanted with as few casualties as possible.

"Alright men, let's take this town!" The captain roared happily, to the excitement of his crew.

"Sir, there's a dinghy coming out to meet us!" One of the crew members called out, pointing over the starboard side of the ship. The captain turned to see a small dinghy with white sails floating towards them, a figure with a large object strapped to his back standing near the front. The dinghy was too far to notice much about the figure, other than it was heading straight towards them.

"Alright, we kill that one and take whatever loot he has before going onwards!" The captain suggested to roars of approval. They turned back to the ship to see it abandoned, much to their confusion.

"What in the hell-?" Someone screamed. The pirates turned to see their main mast slowly falling downwards towards them. With a scream the crew moved out of the way, a few unfortunate ones exploding in a shower of crimson rain as they were instantly crushed into oblivion.

"Well well well." An unfamiliar voice said. The crew turned to see a robed figure standing on the railing on the other side facing them, an extraordinarily large sword in his hand. "Thirty-nine inches on the back blunt end, thirty-one inches in the front sharp end, seven inches wide, a foot long handle and this tip," He fingered the triangle shaped front side that connected front and back, "could impale a rhino."

"Boy, you damaged our ship!" The captain yelled. "You're dead for that insult!"

"Muĝas." The figure muttered, hoisting his sword upwards. Slicing downwards, the crew roared as the deck of the ship began splitting apart as if a sword of immense size had carved through it. Several pirates shrieked with pain as large gouts erupted on their skin, spreading their crimson life source from their bodies.

The figure dropped from the railing, his black robe billowing in the wind. Two pirates roared and stepped forward, their swords pointed out and screaming for the blood of the enemy.

A graceful sweep knocked the blades aside and a return sweep disemboweled the men instantly, letting them fall to the floor in a pool of blood and guts.

"What subtlety…" The captain muttered, mostly to himself.

"Without subtlety a sword is but an iron bar." The figure muttered out of habit. Three pirates and the captain remained, each too afraid to do much against this demon.

"Who are you?" The captain demanded. A quick flick of the wrist revealed spiky red hair, a tied back ponytail and amber eyes filled with the void of emptiness.

"My name is Lazarus." The figure announced, hoisting his sword onto his shoulder. He bounded forward, getting the four pirates within reach in a second and swung his blade before twirling it around and sliding it through the leather strap protruding from the back of his robe that held the sword. He then walked past the still crumpling bodies of the pirate crew and leapt off the ship and onto the dinghy that had just smacked into the side.

Reaching out and pushing off the boat Lazarus allowed his boat to turn and head away from the island. Reaching inside one of the barrels he had aboard his dinghy he pulled out a loaf of bread and began munching slowly, pulling his robe over his head and ignoring the blood splattered against his robe. Looking down he picked up the torn map and unfurled it, looking at the closest island from where he was.

Spotting a good sized island about a day's sailing away he tied the sails down, unsheathed his sword and set it next to him before sitting and staring at the horizon. A crumpled piece of paper appeared in Lazarus's hand and he unfurled it.

A straight rapier was on the front. The grip was crafted of rubies; the handle was a sapphire angel wing. The blade was perfectly white, no scratch nor trace of damage throughout the entire blade. The swordsman smiled as he looked at it.

The Rapier of Lucifer.

The back held another blade, this one a straight sword. A handle of gold and a white blade in the shape of flames, it was simplistic yet beautiful.

The Sword of Michael.

He would find them. It was his destiny.

* * *

The town came into sight early in the morning, quicker than Lazarus had anticipated. He stood up and twirled his arms slightly, the robe slightly stiff from dried blood. Switching his knife he cut the robe down the center and discarded it, revealing a deep red coat over black pants and boots. The coat had several buckles though only one was strapped across his gut.

Sliding the sword into the holster Lazarus leapt off the boat as it came into the docks. Tying the boat to a peg he straightened himself out and walked towards the town.

People looked at him with suspicious gazes, the same with every town he had been to during his travels. Children were held back by their mothers from getting in the man's way as he traveled down the streets. That giant guillotine on his back really was a symbol of terror.

"Hey." Lazarus said to a random passerby straggler. "Is there a sword shop in this place?" He questioned.

"Y…yessir, right over there." The man stuttered, pointing over to a shop isolated in the very corner of the town. Lazarus walked away, headed towards the shop in a straight line.

"Hello, welcome to Zango's Blades, where the blades never dull!" The man grinned, wrenching his hands and twisting his face into a smile. Lazarus pulled out the paper and slammed it onto the counter, leaning forward.

"These two blades, I'm looking for them. Any idea, leads or anything that could send me to where they would be located?" Lazarus questioned, his tone fierce. The man seemed to study the pictures, his gaze not like any of the others who Lazarus had interrogated.

"Always heard these swords were myth, like the Water Moon or Onimaru…but I never put any credence into the fact. I've been looking for these swords my entire life son, and I've never found anyone else who took them seriously. I'll make you a deal son, we'll help each other out. I've set up a web of contacts around the globe in each of the six seas looking for these two. I have no desire to use them, I hope you don't either if you know about them, but I will let you see them if I find them. Deal?" The man stuck a hand out.

"Accepted." Lazarus muttered, shaking the man's hand in earnest. Seeing these blades would be enough for Lazarus in his opinion. The man handed Lazarus a Telesnail, a platinum one.

"If I find those swords I'll contact you through this one. Hell, I'll pay you one hundred million berries to bring them back to me if you're close enough!" The man chortled.

"How do you receive information from your contacts here?" Lazarus asked. "Surely a letter would take weeks."

"No boy, I use Telesnails to get information sent to me." The man smiled.

"Here? In this shack?" Lazarus pressed, gesturing helplessly at the confines of the small building.

"Oi, this happens to be not just a business place but my home." The man grunted. "And it's got a few more secrets then you would imagine."

"A secret basement, perhaps?" Lazarus hazard to guess, having noticed the ground underneath him was hollow. The man grinned momentarily before nodding. "Where would the entrance be?"

"That I cannot disclose my young friend." The man muttered. Nodding slowly Lazarus pulled out a small knife and stabbed the man's hand, sticking it the counter. The man's scream erupted from his deepest being and resounded through the town.

"Now you'll disclose that location." Lazarus informed the man.

"Mat!" The man squeaked, tears streaming down his eyes. "It's…under…mat!"

Nodding slowly Lazarus noted the man was standing on a mat. Walking around the corner he pulled the knife out, leaving the blade through the hand before burrowing the steel into the wall.

Kicking the mat to the side Lazarus bent over and pulled up the trapdoor, admiring the setup of Telesnails underground. Leaping down he examined the setup and nodded when he realized he would be able to carry all the equipment to his dinghy and even set it up safely.

"Will there be any passwords or information I shall need to know when I am contacted?" Lazarus asked, pulling himself out of the basement and looking at the still sobbing man.

"Yes…I'll tell you if you don't kill…me…" The man cried, his hand wrapping around the dagger.

"It can't hurt your chances." Lazarus threatened, his eyes darkening.

"The password is 'Dr. Vegapunk'." The man said. Lazarus nodded and pulled the dagger out of the wood and the man's hand, allowing him to drop to the floor. Lazarus wiped the blood off the knife on the man's shirt before switching it close and tucking it away.

"You have to die now." Lazarus said, stepping behind the man and putting two hands on the man's head.

"But you said-!"

"I said it couldn't hurt your chances." Lazarus reminded the man, twisting his head a full 180 degrees. Mouth still moving slightly the man's corpse dropped to the floor in a heap.

Leaving the body Lazarus brought the Telesnails up and loaded them into a large crate before tightly sealing it shut. He then proceeded to check the store for any good blades, but found no unique ones that perked his interest.

Grabbing the crate Lazarus left the store, careful to step over the dead body as he walked out and towards the dinghy. He felt no remorse for killing the man; the man had simply hindered Lazarus's goals.

* * *

**OC submission form - This story is set 20 years AFTER Luffy becomes Pirate King. All you OC OP writers, sorry but we all know Luffy will be Pirate King, if not that'll be a big plot twist. Anyway, I'm looking for NOT ONLY crewmates, but Shichibukai, villains, temporary allies, other pirates, maybe a Yonkou or two so yeah. Don't say 'She's a Warlord' cuz if I like the character they'll be on my crew. If not I'll find something else for them to do.  
P.S. - ALL Devil Fruits are open, even original ones. I figure 20 years is enough for any of the major characters to pass away. EXCEPT THE STRAW HAT DEVIL FRUITS! No Gum Gum Fruit please and no other ones. Why? Because no one else could pull those off, der.**

Name:

Gender:

Age:

Race:

Appearance:

History:

Devil Fruit/Weapons/Abilities:

Personality:

Likes:

Dislikes:

Dreams:

Other:


	2. Ruby Arc II

**A/N: Alright, so I've already gotten enough OCs for the crew, and thanks to all for sending them in! HOWEVER, please don't feel like I'm closing off OC submissions, I still need short-term allies, villains and the like. So please submit away, and review, because reviews are nice.**

Chapter 2

The tavern was a place of mischief and wonder. Not having left the town due to no one visiting the sword shop Lazarus dropped in to listen for news of the swords he looked for, or the movements of the Four Emperors. No reason existed for his curiosity of the Four, he just wanted to know when tensions between the two rivals in the four escalated.

"And then Roronoa Zolo just took out the Admiral!" One of the men laughed, making Lazarus twitch at the name of the World's Greatest Swordsman, the man he was determined to defeat at any cost. But not the reason for him to search for the swords.

"Man, the Straw Hats must've been something else, huh?" The man he was talking to muttered, nursing a bottle of wine. "Taking on the World Government like that. Those guys were something else."

"Not to mention all those other crews that were there!" Came the reply. "That era held all those great crews man, and we've got nothing. No great crews of interest 'cept for the Four Emperors o'course, but I hear they ain't interested in the One Piece anymore!"

"Man, I would so go after that if I could! The man who found that would be so rich he could do whatever he wanted!"

Lazarus lifted his head, his interest sparked by this. With all that wealth, that would give him ample resources to find the Sword and the Rapier. Should he extend his search to include the One Piece as well, or just keep tracking the two archangel weapons?

"Where is the One Piece?" Lazarus asked the men, who looked at him as if he was the biggest idiot in the world.

"In the New World o'course! Monkey D. Luffy reportedly left it at the same place where Gol D. Roger's One Piece was." One man explained. "They say he even added his treasures to Roger's own!"

Nodding, Lazarus finished his wine bottle in one gulp before standing, wiping his mouth and heading towards the door. Before he left he turned and looked at the two men.

"Do you have any criminals in this town?" Lazarus questioned. Even queerer glances met him.

"Yes, held in the jail." They answered. Nodding gratefully Lazarus headed out of the bar and into the cold night.

* * *

Sword strapped to his back Lazarus headed towards the jail, easily distinguishable from the rest of the town by its symbol and lettering.

"Where are the criminals held?" Lazarus asked the policeman as he stepped inside. The man looked at Lazarus, confused as he reached for his revolver.

"Why?" The policeman questioned.

"I want to free them." Lazarus answered bluntly.

"Sir, you're under arrest." The policeman moved to withdraw his gun only to be carved cleanly in two by Lazarus's blade. The red headed warrior calmly searched the body until he found a set of keys that jingled as he lifted them.

Finding the most heavily secured door he could see in the joint Lazarus raised a booted leg and kicked it down, his eyes catching the jumps of the inmates as they looked at him.

"Woohoo boys, we're free!" One of the orange jumpsuit clad men cheered, pumping his fists into the air. Lazarus counted thirteen men and three women, both genders being on separate sides of the room.

"No, only two will walk out of here today; myself and one of you." Lazarus announced. "Whomever I like will join me, the rest die like the scum you are."

"Let us out of here and we'll show you what scum can do." Another man snarled to the approval of all, save one woman. Her blonde hair matted her face as she kept her face towards the ground.

"Here, let yourselves out." Lazarus offered the men, throwing the ring of keys to them. "Get guns and meet me outside. Nothing will change the fact that you'll die."

* * *

Lazarus watched fifteen figures walk out of the prison, each armed to the teeth with guns, knives and swords. The townspeople noticed immediately and ran away, screaming as they held onto their loved ones.

"Regretting your 'Bad-Ass' attitude now?" One of the women cackled, hoisting her gun. "You should know better than to think you could take on sixteen armed convicts!"

"By my count only fifteen." Lazarus countered, bringing his blade out. No other words were shared, for Lazarus was upon them in an instant. A bystander would have mistaken it for a one-sided massacre; the red coated man was cutting through the criminals as if they weren't there, their blood flying through the air in arcs.

And the screams. God, the screams. They erupted through the air, the kids began crying as they heard, even a few adults began to cry as Lazarus moved through the criminals.

It couldn't have ended any sooner. The screams, the deluges of blood, everything. All just over in an instant, almost as quick as it had began. The townspeople hazard a look to see the lone figure, his massive blade pouring blood and his face stained as red as his duster.

Out of the chaos a small orange fox began trotting out of the building and began to walk away.

"Ruby." Lazarus called out, making the fox stop in its tracks and turn to face him. "C'mon, we're leaving." He ordered.

The fox shifted into one of the convicts, the blonde female. She still wore her orange jumpsuit, but she was looking at Lazarus, confused. "You recognized me Lazarus? This wasn't how I wanted us to meet up again…" Ruby muttered.

"Meet up again?" Lazarus muttered, giving the green eyes beauty a curious gaze. "We've never met."

"What-?" Ruby asked, her eyes widening as she walked towards Lazarus. "Laz, it's me, Ruby! We grew up together, 'member?" The woman tilted her head to the side, studying Lazarus.

"I would remember meeting you." Lazarus replied stoically, shaking his blade to free it of the grime of battle. "Yet I don't, therefore we have never met before this point in time."

"Laz, what happened to you?" Ruby asked, reaching out to touch his face. A strong hand gripped her wrist and moved it away, Lazarus's expression cold as ice.

"Nothing has 'happened' to me Ruby. I don't remember you because I never met you. If I had met you I would have remembered you but I don't so we haven't. I am asking your permission to join my new pirate crew as the First Mate. Do you accept or not?"

"I accept." Ruby nodded, and Lazarus released her hand. "What's the name of our pirate crew Laz?"

"Hmmm…I hadn't thought of one." Lazarus muttered. "We're the Amber Eyed Pirates." He shrugged after a second's hesitation before turning. "Come Ruby, let us head back to the ship." Lazarus said, turning and walking away.

_Laz, something happened to you out there. I don't know what it is, but you're definitely different than when we were kids. I swear I'll find out and fix you though._ Ruby smiled, pleased with herself and her vow. She began to skip after Laz, catching up to him and walking at his side.

"Are you going to wear that prisoner's outfit on our journey?" Lazarus asked her as they walked. Ruby looked down at the outfit and shook her head.

"Nah, I'll pay for some clothes here and then we can leave." She smiled.

"I don't believe pirates pay for anything." Lazarus noted. "We take what we want when we want it." He told her, heading towards a clothing store with Ruby in tow.

"Woohoo, free clothes!" Ruby charged into the store, her hands in the air. Lazarus was right in front of the door, about to push it in and follow her when she walked out with two bags dangling from each arm.

"Done." She smiled. Lazarus observed her changes that had happened almost instantaneously. The orange jumpsuit was gone; it was replaced by a dark red leather jacket that stopped at her navel and was unzipped to reveal a black shirt that left very little to the imagination as it revealed her cleavage. Black tight fitting pants clad her thighs and legs, and small sandals adorned her feet. Many men would have found her quite gorgeous. "Sorry I took so long, but there were so many clothes I couldn't pick!"

"That was…fast." Lazarus smiled, a small fleeting thing that vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. Ruby grinned as she hoisted her clothes firmly. "I do believe at this rate we shall need a larger ship than the dingy I have."

"Well we'll steal one of those too." Ruby shrugged without a moment's hesitation. "But I don't think this town has any ships…well, I mean they have ships, but they're all passenger ships. You know, just shipping people around without weapons to defend from enemies 'cause they supposedly don't have any."

"Well then we'll make our way to another town and hope they have some good ships." Lazarus said to his First Mate before turning to face her. "Can you fight?" He questioned.

"Well I normally have my weapon with me but I'm good at fist-to-fist." She admitted.

"What weapon do you use?" Lazarus pressed. He saw a man with a rifle standing in front of a building and drew his sword. "Get down!" He hissed, placing his blade in front of Ruby and kneeling, his First Mate following his lead as a shot whizzed through the air.

"Watch and learn Cap'n Laz." Ruby grinned as she began to change. Her face became longer and furry as she shrank considerably. Lazarus saw a familiar red fox sitting there, smiling at him before it turned around and took off at the man.

"Stay away you devil!" The man screamed, pumping the handle of his repeater rifle and shooting. Ruby dodged to the side as a patch of dirt erupted, never losing momentum as she charged. The man kept firing, but he never could hit his small, agile target.

The fox leapt at the man and shifted into Ruby, her blonde hair bouncing as she pulled back a fist. "Fox Punch!" She roared, her fist connecting with the man and splattering his blood on her knuckles as his nose shattered underneath the force of her strike.

The man fell but wasn't out. Yanking the rifle from his grasp Ruby smashed his head with the butt, sending him into the void of unconsciousness. She turned to Lazarus and broke the rifle over her knee, tossing it away and planting her hands on her hips.

"Satisfied?" Ruby laughed, walking over to him and picking her bags up, not noticing his stare. "So, can we go? They already want me here, and not in the good way."

"Yes, let's go." Lazarus nodded before turning. "Wait, shouldn't we get your weapons?"

"Nah, they're not exactly rare nowadays." Ruby shrugged, picking up her stuff and moving next to him. "Besides, I'm flexible enough to pick up another weapon if need be."

"Well then First Mate Ruby, today is the first day of the Amber Eyed Pirates." Lazarus grinned. Ruby smiled back and the two headed off to the dingy.


	3. Vegas Arc I

Chapter 3

"_The king and his men stole the queen from her bed_." Ruby sung, leaning over the railing. "_And bound her in her bones. The seas by ours and by the powers…where we will, we'll roam._"

"Yo-ho, all hands, hoist the colours up high!" Lazarus picked up. "_Heave-ho, thieves and daggers, never shall we die!_"

"Man, this is so boring." Ruby muttered, straightening herself and looking at her captain. "Where are we headed anyway? Shouldn't we be landing at islands and trying to find a larger boat for us to take?" She questioned, fidgeting in her seat.

"I didn't want to land on islands near where we broke you out." Lazarus reminded her. "Had we landed they might have received word of our actions and would have attempted to arrest us, leading to more information about us."

"That's going to happen at every island Laz, we're pirates, we're bound to get bounties on us." Ruby sighed, slouching into a laying position across the width of the dinghy. "I don't mind being a pirate, nor getting my gorgeous face on papers all across the North Blue, but we can't just hope no one's never heard of us. We'll have to make an appearance somewhere soon, and wherever we go we're going to commit yet another crime."

A moment's pause. "Fine, there's an island just around here, a little Southeast if I'm not mistaken." Lazarus said. "We need more crewmembers though."

"Yeah, a sewer, a musician, a massager, a musician, a beautician, a musician…" Ruby muttered, raising her fingers with each count.

"You counted musician three times." Lazarus noted. "And a sewer, massager and beautician are not necessary, we're pirates not models. But a musician would be appreciated." He gave Ruby a disapproving look. "When I said crewmembers I meant navigator, cook, shipwright, and doctor. Those are the essential members of a pirate crew. Any others would be superfluous and unnecessary."

"So a sharpshooter, a historian, an assassin, a scout, those would all be stupid to have on a crew?" Ruby chortled sarcastically. "I think we should just recruit as many men and women as possible and then worry about weeding out the weak and useless."

"Hmmm…agreed." Lazar nodded. "Except the adding as many as possible part. We'll keep to elite members, not a fleet. That would require too much maintenance to keep working. It might have worked for Whitebeard, but the Red Haired Pirates, the Straw Hats and at least two others of the Four Emperors have managed to get by without them."

"The Red Haired Pirates are still part of the Four Emperors?" Ruby asked, surprised.

"Yes, I find it interesting that Shanks and Buggy the Clown lived through the Era of Straw Hat." Lazarus chuckled. "From what I've learned they were key figures to Monkey D. Luffy's lifetime."

"Huh, whaddya know." Ruby shook her head. "Hey, maybe you'll be the Third Pirate King, eh?" She flashed her captain a grin.

"A title I have no interest in." Lazarus informed her. "I'm only interested in two weapons."

_You were interested in it as a kid._ Ruby thought to herself. _Even when you left you wanted to be the Pirate King. You even had a Straw Hat you found that was just like Luffy's._

"There it is." Lazarus said, pointing in front of the boat. Ruby turned to see a small speck on the line of the horizon, growing slightly bigger with each passing second. "Not the most attractive of places, but we'll be able to find a ship there. A place of trade and whores."

"Sexy." Ruby gagged, repulsed by the idea of selling your body for money. "And why would you know about the whores?" Ruby growled suddenly, the idea popping into her head.

"I've been there before." Lazarus explained to her. "I had more than enough trouble convincing them to leave me alone, and that I had business." A weary sigh slipped past his lips. "I cannot explain it, but I've had no desire to experience the pleasures of the flesh from any women."

"Are you gay?" Ruby gasped.

"Nor with men." He snarled, shaking his head. Ruby saw a chibi version of her dancing in her head; he must've kept their promise!

"So let's get going!" Ruby suddenly said, her vigor renewed by Lazaru's statements. "Where's the rows?"

"Rows? Why would I row? I have no need to rush." Lazarus leaned back as Ruby slumped. "Time is on my side."

* * *

"Sir, there…was a massacre." A Naval officer said to his superior. "On the island of Hondu fifteen prisoners, each armed to the teeth for a slaughter, were all cut down."

"So?" The man said, staring at the chess board across from a woman, who was grinning smugly. He lifted a bishop and slid it across the board. "Check."

"Sir…the villagers said only one man did it." The young Marine muttered.

"Checkmate." The woman laughed, sliding a pawn forward. The man's jaw would have dropped had he not been in full control of his emotions.

"One man massacred fifteen prisoners armed to the teeth and this is spectacular why?" The man asked, tossing some berries to the woman disinterestedly.

"Because one of the elderly villagers described the movements very similar to Mihawk."

Both man and woman froze and looked at each other.

"Hawkeye's been dead for years." The woman noted.

"So what does this mean for the Mihawk impersonator?" The man muttered, leaning forward and placing his head on his hands.

* * *

"Here we are." Lazarus said, stepping off the docks and officially into the town. "Vegas Island, the land of the damned." He shook his head. "It seems to have gotten worse since the last time I came here."

"Well all we need is a boat and we can get out of here." Ruby replied cheerfully. "So…where do we find the traders?"

"Normally they set up shop in the center of the city. If we head there we'll find someone advertising their boat." Lazarus informed Ruby.

"What if he wants money before he shows us the ship?" Ruby replied, watching with disgust as a scantily clad woman walked away with her arms wrapped in another man's.

"Then we torture him until we get the information we want." The amber eyed man said.

"Laz, I'm not going to torture somebody for a friggin' ship!" Ruby almost screamed. "There are other ways to take a ship. We can just go back to the harbor and find one we like!"

"That would be simplistic." Lazarus admitted. "But stealing the wrong ship could spell trouble. This place has many…unsavory people I would not want to make angry. But stealing from a merchant wouldn't raise much suspicion. Also, how many ships did you see at those docks we landed? There are fifteen docks at this island, and I'd rather not waste time going from dock to dock finding a satisfactory ship."

"Your logic is flawed." Ruby whispered to herself before shrugging. "Alright, let's go find the merchants and get a ship. But no torture." She warned sternly. Lazarus grabbed the handle of his blade warningly and Ruby felt the dredges of fear build up inside her.

"Marines." He hissed to Ruby's relief. She thought he had snapped and was about to kill her.

"Leave 'em. Pretend you don't see them and we'll both go past each other, no harm done."

"Fine." Lazarus growled, releasing his blade. The Marines stopped right in front of the two, Ruby shrugging helplessly as Lazarus shot her an irritated glare.

"This is him." One of the Marines said, pointing at Lazarus. One looked at a piece of paper, at Lazarus, back at the paper, then nodded and stuffed the poster away.

"You're under arrest." The Marine said, reaching out. Inhumanly fast Lazarus grabbed the man's wrist, brought him in close, brought his knee up into the man's gut and dropped him to the ground, unsheathing his sword when he finished.

"Damn it!" Ruby howled, rolling off to the side as bullets began whizzing through the air. She turned to see Lazarus twirling his blade in front of him, the bullets deflecting off his blade. Her eyes darted over to Marines that began moving to his side, beginning to flank him. As good as Lazarus had become with the sword, there was no way he could play defensive and offensive at the same time, and he would soon either have to cut down the Marines or let them take him.

Ruby shifted to her hybrid form, a plan beginning to formulate in her mind. As the Marine took a step closer to Lazarus's back, right next to Ruby's pole, her clawed hand shot out and grabbed the man, pulling him into the pole. A hand wrapped around his neck and Ruby grunted as she held the struggling man until he slouched.

Grabbing the man's sword and knife she spun around the other side of the pole and released the blade at the Marines, wincing as it slid into a man's throat. Bile rose up her esophagus but she forced it down; it had been her first life she had taken.

Before the Marines could take an actual attack a gunshot rang out, dropping the Marine on Lazarus's other side. Two more followed the first and four more Marines dropped to the ground, each dead from a smoking gunshot wound.

Ruby looked around until she saw a figure out of her peripheral vision. Scoping upwards she saw a red robed figure holding a smoking pistol. The Marines turned their rifles towards the figure and shot only for the figure to leap out of the way, lowering its pistol and shooting again.

"Damnit-AHHHH!" A Marine screamed as Lazarus took advantage of the group's distraction and rushed forwards, his blade carving right through the man, letting his body drop to the ground.

"Go." The robed man said, not shouting but loud enough to be heard. Lazarus looked up at the man before looking back at the group.

"Muĝas!" Lazarus roared, hoisting his sword up before bringing it down, a line of ruin letting loose from his blade and swathing through the Marines, slicing through them with ease.

"C'mon!" Ruby yelled, beckoning to Lazarus. The pirate captain had his blade readied for another attack but thought better of it, sheathed his sword and began running, Ruby shifting into her fox form and sprinting to be alongside of him.

"Where we going?" Ruby yelled, trying to be heard over the screams of the crowd the two were rushing through.

"Anywhere." Lazarus replied calmly. "And we need to find that robed man and thank him."

"Hell yeah, dude saved our asses." Ruby laughed, launching herself up onto Lazarus's shoulder.

"Mommy, that doggy's talking!" A boy yelled. Ruby turned about and glared at the boy.

"I'm a fox, not an ugly dog!" She screamed only for Lazarus to wrap a hand around her muzzle.

"And my ear is right next to your furry mouth." He growled as the two continued their run from the law.


	4. Vegas Arc II

Chapter 4

The Marines below him were giving chase as he hopped from building to building, his red cloak flapping like bat wings as he soared through the air. His hand slipped out from under the cloak, a six chamber revolver firmly gripped by his nimble fingers. Slipping the chamber out and nodding at the special bullets inside he leapt off the building, turning to face the Marines mid-air.

"Smokescreen." He grunted, shooting the gun at the ground. As soon as it hit the ground smoke erupted into the air, blinding the Marines. The man continued his spin, his boots jingling as he landed on another rooftop. The revolver went back into its holster and out came the semi-automatic of his own creation.

Sliding the safety switch off and checking the clip he pulled back the slide on the top and released it, loading the chamber with a bullet. He twisted his head, aimed his gun and let loose a bullet, striking a Marine dead in the center of his eyes, knocking the man off of his feet.

Turning back to his flight the man saw the perfect escape route; a crossroads in the town. Landing on another building he turned right and leapt down, landing in the streets and fleeing, leaving the Marines confused and stuck in the crowd as the man shoved his way through.

_I wonder where those two went._ The man thought to himself as he slipped his pursuers.

* * *

"Whew, not what I was expecting." Ruby laughed, leaning against the doorway of the abandoned, run-down building. "I did not think news of our escapades would have reached this place already."

"Well it did." Lazarus said, sitting on a box, his blade across his lap. "I was taking necessary precautions yet you said to wait."

"Easy now, how do you know your reaching for your weapon didn't set them off?" Ruby questioned.

"Because they had a poster in their hand." Lazarus muttered.

"Well this is just great. I killed someone and we're wanted enough Marines recognize us!" Ruby laughed again, throwing her hands up into the air.

"You're taking the fact that you killed someone a lot better than I thought you would." Her captain replied, taking a handkerchief out of one of his sleeves and beginning to wipe his blade off.

"I knew it would happen one day…I feel dirty but there's no point in thinking about it." Ruby sighed, taking a seat next to her captain and resting her head on his shoulder. "His goals were going to hurt my captain and someone close to me…I couldn't let that happen."

"A little too familiar Ruby." Lazarus growled, shrugging his shoulder. Ruby dejectedly removed her head with a heavy sigh. "Now…how are we going to recruit our savior to our crew?"

"How do you know he wants to join our crew?" Ruby challenged, giving her captain a disapproving look.

"There's no other reason he would have saved us if not to join as a pirate?" Lazarus countered, tossing the stained handkerchief away.

"Maybe he just hates the World Government." The suggestion seemed too radical to justify killing Marines. "Look, I'm not saying he doesn't want to join our crew, I'm just saying we should be prepared for the fact that he doesn't want to join."

"No, he'll join us." Lazarus nodded. "Force isn't something you should apply to recruits, don't worry Ruby. I'm just saying he wouldn't attack Navy officers out of anger at the World Government. If he doesn't want to be a pirate then we go our separate ways, if not he's joining us, simple as that."

"Seems good." Ruby grinned. "But what do we do about the ship? Are we still looking for one or have we abandoned that plan? And also, how do we plan on finding the masked sniper?"

"No, we're not abandoning the ship plan Ruby, we still need one. Just because the Navy recognizes us doesn't mean we should give up on obtaining a ship. And as for finding the sniper, I see two options. We can either cause a ruckus big enough he comes back to save us or we let him come to us. Without any clues as to his appearance, whereabouts or identity we can't do anything about him."

"Seems…dumb, but fine." Ruby shrugged. "I guess there is little we could do about him with what little we know. But no causing a ruckus; there's no guarantee he'll come to our aid again."

"Agreed."

* * *

"Ugh, this place reeks!" Ruby squealed, pinching her nose to the point of ripping it off. "What is that smell?"

"Piss wif ink." A man with a white stripe in his black hair sung, leaning over to his companion.

"That was weird." Ruby muttered, shrugging helplessly as the two continued through the crowd. "How do we know which ones are selling ships? It's not like some guy's going to say 'Want to buy a great ship?'?"

"Want to buy a great ship?" Someone roared.

"I knew it!" Ruby squealed, jumping up and down. "As soon as you say you think something won't happen it does! Works every time!"

"Now we just need to find the man who said that." Lazarus informed her, making her slump over in anguish. "What? Yes the crowd is large but surely a man who wants to sell a ship would be a popular attraction, especially in this age."

"Hey," A stern voice said, a black gloved hand reaching out and gripping Lazarus's shoulder firmly, "you two shouldn't still be here. It's dangerous."

"Ahh…our mysterious savior." Ruby smirked, turning to face the man. His skin was pale, as if he was rarely out in the sun, and his lips an almost unhealthy purple color. A red bandanna held his black hair out of his eyes and let it cascade down his back. A black tuxedo made him stand out from the crowd, giving him an official look. But his eyes. The irises were white. "You're blind?" She cried, noticing the eyes. They flicked to look at her.

"No, just an anomaly." He answered curtly before looking around once. "You have to leave. The Marines here are still looking for you and if they find you they'll bring a captain-class Naval officer, or worse. I would suggest putting this island to your backs and never looking back."

"Sorry, but we need a ship." Lazarus countered, brushing the man's hand off his shoulder. "And a sharpshooter has fallen into our lap, how convenient."

"A pirate I'm not." The man snipped.

"A criminal you are."

The man gave a dry chuckle. "Point well taken."

"What's your name?" Ruby questioned, crossing her arms.

"My name is Vincenzo Roccara Scuarqialuppi Brancaleone." The man answered. Ruby's eyes grew impossibly wide and the man grunted. "You can call me Vincenzo."

"Okay Vincenzo, join us." Ruby insisted. "We need more members on our team and you're a really good sharpshooter." When Vincenzo gave no signs of caving she sighed. "Oh well, I guess we'll have to tell the Marines just who saved us pirates."

"And how, pray tell, do you plan on doing that?" Vincenzo countered. "Walk in and tell the Marines that you pirates were saved by me?"

"Uhh…yeah?" Ruby smiled weakly.

"I see no reason for me to join a pirate crew." Vincenzo admitted. His tone didn't imply strict adversity to the notion, just curiosity of what it would bring.

"Do you have a dream?" Lazarus asked. Vincenzo looked at him before nodding slowly. "And how, 'pray tell', do you plan to accomplish that dream here, in some shit hole of an island in the North Blue?"

"My dream cannot be accomplished here, true enough, but that still isn't reason enough for me to join a pirate crew." Vincenzo challenged Lazarus.

"Hmmm…I guess your dream's not important enough if you don't want to see it through to the end. If I wasn't on a pirate crew I would join one if it meant getting close to accomplishing my dream."

"You make quite a convincing argument." Vincenzo muttered. "Fine, I'll join your crew, if only so I can accomplish my goals." He finished sternly, his eyes flashing with determination.

"Nothing more is asked of you, as long as you help me accomplish my own." Lazarus said to Vincenzo. "My name is Lazarus, leader of the Amber Eyed Pirates, and from this day forth your captain."

"I will guide and protect you, captain." Vincenzo promised, shaking Lazarus's hand.

"I'm Ruby, First Mate of the crew." The blonde grinned, shaking Vincenzo's hand after Lazarus. "I'm your superior, but I guess this makes you sharpshooter and Second Mate." She admitted with a hearty laugh.

Vincenzo nodded politely at Ruby before turning to Lazarus. "I must pack my things and then I will be ready to leave. What docks is your ship in?"

"That's the reason we're in the market Vinvenzo; we need a ship and we're going to steal one from a merchant." Lazarus explained plainly.

"Foolish to alert merchants to your schemes but fine." Vincenzo nodded.

"That's what I said." Ruby piqued.

"Do you have a better idea?" Lazarus challenged the new crewmember.

"Go to a harbor, find a ship you like and take it."

"Told you!" Ruby roared, poking Lazarus in the chest and smiling triumphantly. "Told you we should just go and find one, but noooo you had to go find a merchant and take his!"

"Fine, we'll find a harbor and take one of the ships from there, ok?" Lazarus growled, knocking Ruby's hand away from his chest as he scowled. Ruby smugly grinned as the two walked away, Vincenzo heading off to grab his things.

"Think he'll actually join us?" Ruby asked her captain as the two headed towards the nearest dock.

"He has already exposed himself to us, he has no reason not to join us. Besides, we know his face now, finding him would be easy." Lazarus reasoned.

"But still…why would he save us? Even associating with pirates these days warrants a bounty, and killing Marines is another offense! This guy saved two people…two _pirates_ he didn't even know, and we don't know why!"

"That is not something we should worry about." Lazarus assured his partner. "Should he become a problem we will eliminate him. Surely we are strong enough to take out a long range fighter."

"Yeah…of course." Ruby nodded.


	5. Vegas Arc III

Chapter 5

"Sir, there have been two pirates sighted in the city!" A Marine reported to his superior.

"Unknowns?" The captain asked calmly.

"No sir, one was broken out of prison and the other was the one responsible for the fifteen convict massacre!" The Marine yelled worriedly. The Marine captain nodded before standing and stretching out her body. The little fox that was sleeping on the couch next to her looked at her, making her smile.

"You stay here, I have a criminal to take care of." She instructed. The captain had black long hair that ended at her bottom tied back in a ponytail, her right eye was blood red and her left eye was gold. She wore black baggy pants, black boots with steel toes, and a dark blue tight sleeveless shirt finished off with a black choker.

"Captain Love, would you like me to get Commander Jack ready?" The Marine asked. Captain Love nodded and the Marine saluted before rushing out of the room.

* * *

"Alright, so how are we going to find the ship we like?" Ruby questioned after Vincenzo reappeared, a large briefcase in his hand and a rifle strapped across his back.

"You two go to the closest dock and look for a ship." Lazarus ordered. "If you find a good one, one of you come and find me so we can leave in a hurry. I'll be around town looking for something important."

"Yes sir." Vincenzo nodded, hoisting his rifle again. Ruby mumbled an affirmative and the two turned and headed off.

"I need to find another good sword." Lazarus said to himself, grabbing the handle of his blade and sliding it into its strap on his back. Getting to his feet he turned and headed out of the building, walking in a random direction as he looked around.

* * *

"Ma'am, the captain asked me to fetch you. There are two pirates that have been located in Vegas and the captain is going to find them." The Marine said, bursting into a room.

The dark red skinned woman inside had short very spike black hair that went down to her ears and had a silver streak in the middle. Her face was heart shaped with a button nose and high cheek bones. She was quite tall for a female and had small, but noticeable curves. Her body was somewhat muscular, and her hands and feet were small with long arms and legs. Her eyes were a coal black and were usually half closed that give the impression she was always tired.

"Alright, I'll meet her." Commander Jacqueline Sima muttered, putting on her tattered black cloak, pulling the gold chain necklace out from underneath so it could be seen by the world.

"Commander Jack!" Another Marine burst into the room. "Captain Love has orders for you to head to dock six. One of the known pirates has been spotted with an unknown individual. You are to apprehend them and bring them in alive."

Nodding Commander Jack turned to the window in her room, walked over to open it up and leapt out. The Marines saw her fly back up though, flames erupting from her palms and feet as her Devil Fruit powers hurtled her through the air.

* * *

"Man, none of these ships have the…the jazz of a pirate ship, y'know?" Ruby moaned as she and Vincenzo studied the ships, the docks around them covered in crates. "I mean, they all scream 'Tourist Trap' to me, how 'bout you?"

"I agree. None of them seem suitable vessels for pirates." Vincenzo said, his fingers nervously twitching on his briefcase. "I guess we'll have to head to another dock to find a good pirate ship."

"So you two are the pirates I'm supposed to bring in?" Someone called out. Ruby and Vincenzo turned to see Commander Jack standing there, her arms crossed. "Commander Jack of the Navy, here to bring you two in."

"Wait…we're already wanted by the Navy?" Ruby cried. "For what? All Lazarus has done is break me out of the pit! What could we possible do to have warranted the Navy coming after us!"

"Piracy is a crime in and of itself nowadays." Jack explained to the two. "And besides, your captain decimated fifteen prisoners. He's dangerous, and the Navy wants to end the Era of Piracy. We can't do that with dangerous people running around massacring people, even if they are criminals."

"Sorry, but I just decided to become a pirate." Vincenzo apologized, setting his briefcase down. "And I can't get arrested before getting a bounty." A cocky grin crossed his features. "That wouldn't be very admirable of me, would it?"

"Fine…if that's the way this is going to go down." Jack sighed before dropping into a fighting stance, her palms pointing at Ruby and Vincenzo and her fingers straight. "Then we'll duel."

"Move!" Ruby yelled just as Jack fired a blast of flames at the two. "What the hell was that?"

"My Devil Fruit, the Fire Fire Fruit." Jack explained, cupping her fists. "A Paramythia fruit that allows me to produce and control fire." She thrust her hands forward. "Flare!" She roared.

Ruby ducked behind a box as a large pillar of flames roared past her, the heat almost unbearable. It died away and Ruby sighed before she saw Jack sliding across the pavement, gripping the ground with her fingers and lashing out with a foot, smashing Ruby across the face and sending the blonde tumbling across the ground.

"See? You had to escalate to violence." Jack turned before pushing off the ground.

"Thunder Shot!" Vincenzo yelled, pulling out his revolver and firing off a bullet. There was the sound of zapping as the bullet hit the ground, Vincenzo ducking behind a crate as Jack landed on her feet.

"Fire Disk." Jack muttered, holding her hands out. Two rotating Frisbees of fire formed in her hand as she gripped the sides. "Come out, pirates." She ordered.

A red fox walked up to Jack, who looked at it curiously. "Shouldn't you be with Captain Love?" Jack asked.

"Fox Punch!" Ruby roared, shifting from a fox back into a human, her fist smashing into Jack's jaw and sending the Commander flying through the air. "That's what you get!" Ruby laughed.

"Headshot." Vincenzo muttered, rolling across the ground and firing his revolver.

"Damnit!" Jack tossed her disk, the fire slicing through the bullet headed straight at her, the two pieces flying harmless to her sides. Pulling her arm back, Jack released the second disk, watching it fly through the air and cleave cleanly through Vincenzo's gun, the barrel falling to the ground, smoking at the end. Landing on her feet Jack turned around and grabbed the returning disks in her hands.

Ruby shifted to her fox form, sprouting fur across her body and her tail unfurling itself. "Fox Kick!" Ruby yelled, her superior leg muscles propelling her through the air, lashing out with her leg and catching the Marine in the gut, sending her flying through the air.

"Fire Whip!" Jack yelled, snapping her arm as a long rope of fire flared from the tip, wrapping around Ruby's ankle. The fox-human screamed in agony as she fell to the ground, Jack landing nimbly on her feet with the fire whip in hand.

"Disarming Shot!" Vincenzo roared, shooting off his rifle. Jack released the whip, the whip itself dissolving, and slid to the side as a bullet whizzed by, slicing through a lock of her hair. He pulled a handle on the rifle, reloading it. Gripping the mid-section Vincenzo pulled, separating the rifle into two pieces. He shook the front piece and violently shook it, releasing a handle. "Alright, let's go." He whispered, walking over to where Ruby stood. "Stay back Ruby." He ordered.

"Don't have…much of a choice…do I?" Ruby hissed, shifting back into her human form. Vincenzo winced at the peeling layer of flesh around her ankle.

"Fireball!" Jack yelled, forming a ball of flames in her hand before throwing it. Vincenzo ducked under the first and rolled to the side to dodge the second.

"Dual Shot: Electro!" Vincenzo yelled. Two bullets buzzed with electricity left his guns, one hitting Jack in the right shoulder just away from the joint.

"AHH!" Jack screamed, dropping to one knee as the electricity shorted off all feeling to her right arm. "Damnit…agh!" She screeched again as a surge of electricity went through her arm.

"Sorry." Vincenzo apologized, standing up. "But this battle is over." He reattached both guns into his rifle and reloaded it with a pull of the handle. "Headshot."

"Firewall!" Jack yelled, smacking her palm on the ground. Just as Vincenzo shot his bullet a barrier of flames erected itself in front of her. The bullet hit the wall and melted instantaneously, leaving Jack unharmed. "Fire Crows!" A wave of her hand dispersed the wall into crow-shaped flames that homed in on Vincenzo.

"Damnit." Vincenzo split his rifle again and began shooting, the crows vanishing as they were hit by the bullets. "C'mon!" Vincenzo yelled, aiming at Jack. "Dual Wield: Ice Shot!"

Jack tried to push herself up but momentarily forgot to not use her right arm, making her stumble and hit the ground face first. The first bullet whizzed over her head, the second struck the ground at her feet, freezing them instantly and gluing her to the cement she was standing on.

"A worthy fight that you lost." Vincenzo muttered, walking up to Jack with both guns drawn. "But a fight is only truly lost when one side is dead."

"Don't!" Ruby yelled, stopping Vincenzo in his tracks. "Don't kill her. She was just doing her duties."

"Don't kill me pirate and I will hunt you down and arrest you." Jack hissed, anger boiling in her eyes as she stared down the man before her.

"Fine." Vincenzo muttered, never taking his eyes off the Navy Commander. He brought his gun across her face, knocking her out cold. "You live to fight another day Commander." He growled, leaving the unconscious woman alone and walking over to Ruby. "Betting you can't walk." Vincenzo said.

"Duh!" Ruby growled, Vincenzo helping her to her feet. She hissed at the twinge of pain that seared her ankle as soon as she put the lightest amount of pressure on it.

"C'mon." Vincenzo muttered, turning around and helping her up, wrapping her legs around his back and her arms around his neck. "You'll have to carry my rifle." He told her.

"Oh, still making the injured woman work. What an ass." Ruby teased as he handed her the rifle.

"Shut up."

**Alright, last update of the year for this fic guys, sorry! Going to Arizona to spend time with the family and don't wanna bring my labtop for fear it might get dameraged! So please review and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and be safe!**


	6. Vegas Arc IV

**A/N: Happy New Years everybody, hope it's been treating ye kindly so far. Anyway here's a new chappie for ya'll, enjoy!**

Chapter 6

"What an…intriguing blade." Lazarus said, looking at the sword. The sword was a katana with two reinforced parallel blades set a small distance apart from each other, two pieces of smooth velvet dangling from the sides of the handle. "Quite finely crafted and an interesting design."

"Thank you, thank you." The man behind the counter grinned, rubbing his hands together slyly. "I crafted it myself in my youth. A one of a kind piece, found nowhere else in the world I can assure you! And, tell you what, I'll even let you have it for the low price of two million berries, how does that sound?"

"That is a very sweet deal my friend." Lazarus muttered, sliding the blade back into its sheath. "But I'm afraid I can't afford that."

"Then I apologize but I must ask you to put it back." The man growled, slightly put off.

"But listen to my counter offer good sir!" Lazarus pleaded. "I'll take this sword in exchange for your life, how about that?"

"What?" The man squealed as Lazarus smiled like a little boy.

"You can live if I get this sword." Lazarus explained. "How about it? Or is a sword really worth dying for?"

"You don't mean it." The salesman stuttered. "Th…the Marines would hunt you d…down if you k….killed me!"

"I'm already wanted by the Marines, so my innocence isn't at stake here. Neither are my morals, for killing isn't something that bothers me. So, are you willing to part with this blade, or do you really want to die?"

"I'm not going to be ripped off by…by some pirate!" The man screamed, pulling a flintlock out from underneath his desk.

"That gun is outclassed." Lazarus smiled. "You'll die clutching that relic?"

"You think you can beat a gun with a sword? Who are you, Roronoa Zolo?" The man sneered, pulling the trigger. Lazarus quickly drew the two bladed katana and sliced, the bullet falling harmlessly to the floor. The man squeaked and pressed up against a wall as the sword's cold metal pressed against the skin of his neck, right near his jugular.

"See? You were outclassed." Lazarus muttered, slicing the jugular vein. The man's hand went straight to the wound as he gargled, falling to his knees. "Wow…that was nice and clean." Lazarus laughed, cleaning the blade before putting it into the sheath. "Damnit, forgot to ask the sword's name."

Finding a suitable belt to attach the sword to Lazarus strapped it on his waist and walked outside, both swords strapped to his body.

"Hmmm…large sword, red duster…you must be Lazarus." Captain Love said, crossing her arms. "What an honor it is." She smiled sarcastically.

"The pleasure is all mine." Lazarus said. "But you hold me at a disadvantage, for I know not your name."

"Captain Love of the Marines." She curtsied, her form graceful. Despite her gender, Lazarus knew immediately she was trained and prepared for battle.

"Captain Lazarus of the Amber Eyed Pirates." Lazarus bowed, gripping his new sword, relishing the chance to test it in battle. "So…am I to assume that you are here to bring me in for my 'crimes'?" The pirate captain grinned.

"You are to assume correctly." Love smiled, reaching behind her. When she pulled her hands back out from behind her she held throwing knives in between each finger. "Now…I already know there is no doing this the easy way…so let's get started."

"Neniiĝas." Lazarus whispered, vanishing from sight. Love tensed before she jumped slightly, twisting through the air in a corkscrew pattern before landing, Lazarus appearing behind where she had been a moment before, the double bladed sword in his hand. "Quite impressive."

"You're not that fast." She explained to him, getting up and turning to face him. "But…this is true speed."

"Flit." She swayed to the left before vanishing in a blur. Lazarus grunted as he dropped to a crouch, his blade slowly moving in front of him.

"Where are you coming from?" Lazarus muttered to himself, trying to still his beating heart. A pain ripped through his side as his gut was slashed open, and the amber eyed man fell to his knees as he gripped his wound.

"See? You're too slow." Love commented, flicking her blades to free them of the crimson life liquid. "I can't be seen nor stopped when I speed." A grin crossed her face. "Of course, someone as powerful as you should be able to beat me."

"Spiralo." Lazarus yelled, twisting his sword in a crescent pattern. A spiral of air shot from the blade and flew at Love, striking her in the gut and sending her flying. "You talk too much." He growled.

"The powers of the Devil Fruit, eh?" Love grumbled, getting to her feet.

"I'm not using them." Lazarus informed her, twirling his blade. "I wouldn't need them for someone who's this weak."

"Hmm…an elitist bigot, huh?" Love laughed, cracking her neck. "Shadows!" She yelled suddenly, throwing a knife. Lazarus leaned to the side but yelped with pain as he saw one knife fly above his shoulder but another burrow itself in the flesh of his left shoulder. "Didn't see the second knife, did you?"

"Not at all." Lazarus hissed honestly in response, grabbing the blade and ripping it from his shoulder, dropping the bloody silver knife to the ground. "This battle is becoming irksome quickly."

"I have just found my groove, pirate." Love informed him with a laugh.

"Your sarcasm is quickly becoming annoying." Lazarus growled, hoisting his double blade. "Muĝas." He said, slicing downwards and sending a blast of invisible energy at Love, who recognized the pattern and sidestepped. "Devias." Lazarus smirked, the dust slice turning and cutting Love, the Marine Captain not having noticed the slice.

"Damn…" She growled, falling down. She noticed her right shoulder and leg had large gash on her back, but not severe enough to hinder her movements. "Flit." She hissed, vanishing from sight.

Lazarus roared as a large gouge appeared in his thigh, followed by a vertical cut up his wrist and three shallow scratches on his shoulder. Love appeared next to Lazarus, her fist coming up and smashing into his jaw, sending him to the ground before she twisted about and dug her heel into his chest.

"Over." She demanded.

"Not even." Lazarus snarled, his eyes alight with fury. He grabbed her ankle with one hand and threw her over his head, sending the young Marine captain flying through the air.

Getting to his feet Lazarus reversed the grip on his double bladed sword. Moving with speed someone would not expect out of a man his size, Lazarus easily caught up to the still airborne Love and pulled his blades back.

"Tranĉaĵo." He howled, slashing his blade. Love's eyes went wide as an arc of her blood splayed through the air, leaving two gashes in her gut, not lethal much to Lazarus's displeasure.

"Get away!" Love screamed, her leg coming up and meeting with the pirate captain's gut, sending him backwards through the air. Lazarus flipped, his duster fluttering like wings before he stowed his double blade and drew the larger one from behind him, spinning it above his head before leaning it against his shoulder.

"Alright…this is going on far enough." Lazarus growled, flexing his fingers. "I guess…I'll have to use my Devil Fruit after all."

"Great…let's…see…it." Love whimpered, staggering on her feet. Lazarus readied himself but saw she was in no position to fight anymore. Sliding his blade back into its holster Lazarus began walking away. "Where…do you think…you're going?" Captain Love demanded, sluggishly swinging her hand, the knives glinting dangerously.

Grabbing the wrist Lazarus twisted around and threw the captain to the ground. A hand wrapped around her throat as his eyes glared at her angrily.

"You're weak now, and I've won. Live with it or I can end your miserable life right now." Lazarus snarled, a sadistic smirk crossing his features as Love recognized the insanity her foe was possessed by.

"I'll…get…you." She promised, laying down her knives. Lazarus smiled before releasing her and getting to his feet.

"Good-bye Captain, I hope we'll meet again." Lazarus taunted, turning and walking away, his sword jingling at his hip.

* * *

"There you are." Vincenzo muttered as he and Ruby caught up to their captain. "We've been looking for you. We've found a ship and we need to get out of here quick."

"Marines are after us, I know." Lazarus nodded. "Ruby, you look awful. Did you two have a run-in with a Marine?"

"Yeah, a Commander." Ruby piqued. "She used fire, burned my ankle pretty bad but we got her."

"A Captain came after me, but she was no trouble." Lazarus muttered. Ruby and Vincenzo eyed the numerous scratches he had across his body wearily but didn't press the point.

"Anyway, we need to head to our new ship." Vincenzo urged. "If those two Marines go running back we'll have the whole damned island after us."

"Alright, let's get going then." Lazarus said to his subordinates. The three of them began walking, Vincenzo and Ruby slightly leading as Lazarus kept his eye out for nearby Marines.

* * *

"This is it?" Lazarus questioned his crew as the three of them boarded the ship. When the other two nodded the captain began inspecting the ship.

Three masts each with a nice black sail currently tied up. The front of the ship had a skull that held a bone in its mouth, chains dangling from either end of the bone and attaching to the sides of the ship. A decent size, the ship would easily house the three of them and possible quite a few more.

Lazarus checked the cannons on the side. They showed signs of recent use, this vessel wasn't a tourist attraction, it was meant for combat.

"Think a group of pirates might own it?" Ruby asked, wincing as she tried putting weight on her ankle. The flesh was beginning to peel off and the new skin was a bright red that seemed to almost give off a glowing light.

"Possible." Lazarus responded honestly. "But then they wouldn't be real intelligent seeing as they left their boat completely unguarded in a city full of the desperate."

"Their loss is our gain." Vincenzo muttered, leaning against a wall, his cloak flapping from the breeze.

"Well said." Lazarus grinned. "Let's set sail on our new ship the _Dragoon_."

"Aye aye Captain!" Ruby and Vincenzo saluted and the three of them set about preparing the ship to sail to the next island and more adventure.


	7. Battle of the Bands I

Chapter 7

"Aim and…anticipate the recoil." Ruby repeated, taking the gun from Vinvenzo. She turned to face the bull's-eye dangling from the main mast, taking a deep breath as she aimed the gun, staring down the sights. Pulling the trigger three times, Ruby winced as she felt the powerful recoil of Vincenzo's own handmade gun bolt up her arm.

"Not bad." Vincenzo muttered, noticing that two of the shots had hit the target, the third bullet having gone slightly higher than the target itself and lodging it's silver body into the mast.

"Thanks for the lessons Vince." Ruby grinned, patting the taller man on the shoulder as she reloaded the gun.

"So is that the new name I'm going to go by?" Vincenzo asked skeptically. "Vince?"

"Yep. Helluva lot easier to say than Vincenzo in a fight." Ruby laughed, pushing the gun's slide back before letting it flick forward. "Alright, one more time." She said sternly, aiming the gun again.

"Don't miss." Lazarus instructed, walking down the steps from the wheel. "We just got this ship and I don't want to have to replace it any time soon."

"Don't worry Laz, I'm not that bad of a shot." Ruby grumbled, shooting the pistol three times. Vince grinned as three new holes appeared in the bull's-eye, earning a cheer of victory from the blonde female. "See? Easy as pie." She grinned, twirling the gun and accidentally shooting a shot off into the air. "I meant to do that."

"Well done." Lazarus nodded. "But we need to find a navigator. I can navigate, but that doesn't necessarily mean I want to." He explained to his crewmates.

"Don't forget my musician!" Ruby chimed happily. "I want someone to serenade while we toil effortlessly to make ourselves famous worldwide!"

"Ruby, we'll get a musician." Lazarus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as Ruby began to dance happily. Vince took the pistol away from Ruby, having flinched each time she pointed it at him during her dance. "But I don't want a weakling musician who has to be defended every battle we get into." He explained sternly.

"Well duh, nobody here wants that." Ruby scoffed, waving her captain off. "But a musician is still needed for this ship to sail!" She proclaimed, jabbing a finger in the air as she struck a pose.

"Well there's an island nearby, we'll head there." Lazarus informed the two. "We'll just land there and search for one of our newest crewmates."

"Quick question here." Ruby said suddenly. "What do we do if we find a crewmate, but down the line find a someone better suited for that position?"

"Kill the dead meat and move on." Lazarus shrugged, to Vince's and Ruby's horror. "Bazinga." He smiled lightly. "I'm not completely heartless Ruby. We'll just let him/her go, and the bounty, should they have one, will be their problem."

"Sounds like a good deal." Vince nodded his agreement, Ruby shrugging a moment later.

"Alright, set sail due east." Lazarus instructed, the two pirates currently under his command saluting and running away to do their jobs. "What the hell is a 'Bazinga'?" Lazarus asked himself, looking down. "What's happening to me?"

* * *

Lazarus, Ruby and Vince walked down the gangplank into the town docks.

"The Town of No Name?" Lazarus read curiously. "Quite strange. This island is surely an oddity."

"Look, a group of people." Ruby nodded to the strangers ahead of them. Lazarus noticed that one of them, slightly shorter than the others and wearing a grey jacket, the tip sharply pointed by something underneath. Lazarus noticed the grey hoodie was trying to back away but the others kept walking forward. The amber eyed pirate grabbed his new sword and started walking forward.

"C'mon Bunny, don't be a little bitch!" One of the males hooted, glaring maliciously at the hoodie. "Just drop out and you won't embarrass yourself."

"You wish I would, huh Snaggle-Tooth?" The evidently female hoodie laughed, taking another step back just as Lazarus appeared behind her. "Oh, sorry." Lazarus's eyes widened as the hoodie turned and he saw a fishwoman looking up at him through emerald green eyes.

"Lose it Red." One of the boys growled, producing a knife. Lazarus went rigid with anger; these whelps were threatening him?

"Cool it Laz, no killing." Ruby soothed, grabbing the hand that had reached up to grab the handle to his larger sword. Several wolf whistles sounded from the boys as they glimpsed the blonde woman. "Thanks, but you twerps aren't worth it." She smiled sweetly.

"Damn, got a tongue on her." One of the boys, 'Snaggle-Tooth', grinned. "Don't like that on my ho's, but oh well."

"You got a lot of nerve speaking like that to her." Lazarus snapped, stepping up and grabbing the boy's shirt, lifting him off the ground and snarling in his face. "Apologize."

"Yo, yo, I'm sorry man!" The boy waved his hands apologetically, sweating profusely in the face of the pirate. "Jus' joking bro, jus' joking!"

"Keep it that way." Lazarus growled, releasing the boy to the ground and watching him and his friends scramble away from the crew of three.

"Thanks man." The girl smiled, pulling back her hoodie. She had light blue skin with faded orange stripes, and her fin was partially hidden by her long voluptuous green hair that cascaded down the back of her jacket. "Those guys are major jerks. They think they're hot shit, but they're just a bunch of cowards who run in packs, and their music is shitty too."

"What did they want with you?" Lazarus asked, watching the retreating backs of the teenaged boys.

"They wanted me to drop out of the Battle of the Bands that starts tomorrow." She informed the crew. "Sorry, my name's Aes. Who are you guys?"

"Captain Lazarus." He turned to face her. "Of the Amber Eyed Pirates. This is my First Mate Ruby," He gestured to the blonde, who grinned, "and Second Mate slash Sniper Vince." Said sniper nodded politely.

"Pirates huh? That's cool." She nodded, unfazed by the revelation. "I'm just a musician on this island." She informed them, not noticing Ruby's grin. "So thanks again for saving me, but I got a band practice I need to get to. Later." Waving with a webbed hand Aes turned around and walked away, whistling cheerfully.

"That…is the most calm and collected girl…fishgirl, I've ever met." Vince noted. "Cool as a cucumber and sharp as a tack."

"We are sooo going to recruit her." Ruby insisted to both men's surprise. "What? She's a fishman! Err…fishwoman…whatever. Point is, those guys are strong as heck! She could probably outdo you in a match of strength Laz!"

"I doubt it." Lazarus growled, his pride stung by Ruby's observation. Fishmen…and Fishwomen were incredibly strong, but he would not lose out to a teenage female. "Besides, she is far too young to join a crew of pirates Ruby. I am not above kidnapping, but her parents would demand her return, and she would be unwilling to cooperate with people who forcibly removed her from her home."

"That's why we manipulate her onto…err, into our crew." Ruby smirked. "We find out her dream and promise to make it a reality if she joins our crew."

"And if she has already achieved her dream?" Vince countered.

"Then we make her think of a new one." Ruby replied. "Any way you guys look at it, she would fit in with us. We're a crew of misfits and don't fit a definitive pattern, she would be right at home. Also, I'm a Devil Fruit user, and I don't know about you Vince, but Laz hasn't always been the best of swimmers. Well…hello, Fishwoman! Part-fish? Would that seem like an asset to the crew?"

"You make a good argument." Vince nodded.

"That she does." Lazarus noted with a heavy sigh. "But getting this Fishwoman off the island and into our crew won't be an easy feat. We have to convince her that joining us will be beneficial to her, not just to us."

"Duh, said that already." Ruby grunted, crossing her arms. "Well let's go into town and mingle around. I need to find a weapon's shop and see if they have my kind of weapon."

The three headed into town, looking at all the banners for 'The Battle of the Bands' festivity that was to begin the next day.

"Didn't that Aes chick mention something about a Battle of the Bands?" Ruby questioned, turning around to look at another banner the trio had passed.

"Yes." Lazarus nodded. "I assume if we stay here we'll run into her at this musical show."

"Ooh, weapon's shop!" Ruby cheered, rushing ahead and into the double doors.

"Captain, are we really going to recruit the Fishgirl?" Vince asked doubtfully. "She's just a teenager."

"Ruby has made an excellent point justifying the acquisition." Lazarus replied. "A Fishwoman would be highly beneficial to our crew, considering two of our members have Devil Fruits."

"I don't have one." Vince shook his head.

"I do." Lazarus informed his Second Mate. "It is quite powerful, and with my sword skills I am nearly invincible."

"Isn't that being a bit overconfident?" Vince turned to face the red headed pirate. "No one is truly invincible. Not even the Pirate King was invincible, and he was truly the strongest of his era."

"I am quite certain in my skills to overcome any weaknesses that my foes happen to accidentally find out about." Lazarus said. Vince nodded, not caring to press the point much further. The two stood there, waiting for the blonde First Mate to return, tapping their feet idly as the townspeople went about their business.

"They had it." Ruby cheered, walking out of the store with a wooden box in her arms, a rope dangling from the tips. "They even had a decorative box for me to keep it in, 'cause it was just for 'decoration' but perfectly sharp! Man, some people I swear." She shook her head in disbelief.

"Let's just observe the town, rest on our boat and come back to the festival tomorrow." Lazarus ordered. The two crewmates nodded and the three departed.


	8. Battle of the Bands II

Chapter 8

"Come one, come all to the Battle of the Bands, where all musicians are welcome!" A random teenage boy screamed, twirling a sign that pointed towards the center of the town and read 'Battle of the Bands' as he advertised.

"You'd think this was a national event the way that kids losing his mind." Ruby laughed as the three pirates walked down the street. "I mean this is an amateur musician's gig and everyone's making such a big deal about it."

"Coming from the one who wants one of these amateur musicians to join us." Lazarus commented with a roll of the eyes. "I still can't believe we are actually going to accept a teenager into a crew of pirates."

"Luffy was a teenager when he set out on his journey." Ruby smirked. "Besides, where in the Pirate Codex does it say teenagers are not allowed to join pirate crews?"

"If someone wrote one trust me I'd find the section that said that." Lazarus growled.

"The Pirate Codex was written by Morgan and Bartholomew and has been in use for generations." Ruby informed her captain. "How can you not know it? You memorized it Laz!"

"If I memorized it I would remember it, but I didn't because I don't." Lazarus smirked. Ruby shook her head in exasperation before noticing that Vince had vanished. She quickly relayed her finding to her captain, who looked around curiously. "He must have headed off somewhere in search of a companion to the competition."

"Who the hell our age would go to the concert?" Ruby snapped with a shake of her head.

"We're going, aren't we?"

"For a totally different reason Laz. We're there to recruit another person onto our pirate crew." Ruby countered.

"Is that really the best thing to say aloud in public?" Lazarus growled aloud, making Ruby flush with embarrassment and look around, sighing with relief when she realized no one heard her.

"How come you're not wearing your sword?" Ruby asked casually. Lazarus groaned much to Ruby's annoyance. "What?"

"Ruby…sword in public. Think about that for a second. Who would wear a sword in public? More importantly who could wear a sword in public and get away with it without drawing too much attention to themselves?"

"Uhhh…Marines, I guess. Powerful pirates no one wants to mess with. And I guess security guards." Ruby deducted with a shrug.

"Are we any of those?"

"Nope. But since when did you care about being stealthy or laying low? You haven't exactly tried to blend in with the crowd these past few islands we've visited." Ruby pointed out.

"But we have no idea how long we're going to have to stay here." Lazarus retorted. "The other islands I had no intention of staying any longer than I had to, but here we'll stay until this is over so we can recruit the fishgirl."

"Okay, no need to be a condescending douche about it." Ruby snapped. "Jeez you are different." She muttered with a shake of her head.

"Yes, I guess I am different than whomever you know as a child, because it surely wasn't me." Lazarus scowled until he noticed someone in the distance, which he nudged Ruby. "Over there." He told her, pointing towards Aes and a group of humans she was with. "That must be the band she would be competing with."

"It would appear so." Ruby nodded. Aes seemed to spot them, for she went stiff for a moment before she was dragged by a human girl into another store, two boys following behind them.

"What should we do?" Lazarus asked Ruby. "Follow her or just wait until the entire competition is over with?"

"Well we should probably listen to her musical talents, since we are going to have to put up with her during the journey." Lazarus reasoned. "Besides, we have nothing else to do, and everything in this town relates back the music."

"Alright, we'll follow her to where she's playing and listen." Ruby nodded. "But you do have to admit Fishgirl will be helpful."

"Unless she ate a Devil Fruit." Lazarus chuckled.

"That would be the stupidest thing ever! If you can swim in water and fight better in it than on land why would you do something to take away your ability to swim?" Ruby yelled, throwing her arms up in the air. "I swear if I ever met a Fish-person who ate a Devil Fruit I would make it my goal to kill them."

"Funny." Lazarus grinned. "But I get the feeling she didn't. She was making her way towards water when those boys confronted her, something no Devil Fruit user would do if they were being cornered by an opponent."

"Well good job Sherlock, you can make deductive reasoning." Ruby applauded. "C'mon, let's follow her. And make sure she doesn't hear you."

"I thought I was the captain." Lazarus growled as he followed his blonde First Mate.

* * *

"So why you following me again?" Aes asked as Lazarus and Ruby turned down the alleyway to follow the Fishgirl. "I mean, I'm not going to tell anyone you're pirates, so you don't have to kill me."

"Damn you were calm about that." Ruby laughed. "Cool as a cucumber with you, huh?"

"Well I don't know you guys." Aes explained. "And you're following me, so that is something to be cautious about. Don't want to die without facing my attackers down."

"Well we aren't planning on killing you just yet." Lazarus said to the Fishgirl. "We actually were planning on asking you to join our crew once this entire competition was over with."

"You want me to join your pirate crew?" Aes repeated disbelievingly. "Why?"

"Well I want a musician on our crew." Ruby told the Fishgirl. "Lazarus here didn't, but you being a Fishman…err, Fishwoman…girl, whatever, would be helpful. I mean, I ate a Devil Fruit, so you would be able to save me easily."

"And if I just so happened to have eaten a Devil Fruit? What would that accomplish?" Aes challenged with a smirk, leaning against one of the buildings.

"Well you would have royally pissed me off and made you a target on my 'So Stupid I'd Have to Kill' list." Ruby smiled pleasantly. "Unless you got…like…the Swim Swim Fruit or something, but that'd be the most redundant Devil Fruit in the world. Actually it wouldn't accomplish anything, since you gain powers but water negates those powers."

"Why would I want to become a pirate? I don't like violence much, and killing is way past my limits." Aes argued. "I wouldn't make a good pirate, sorry."

"Trust me, killing isn't something we do often." Ruby assured the younger female. "I try to avoid it as much as possible myself, but violence isn't avoidable Aes. So here's a question you must ask yourself; why would you want to stay here?"

"To stay with my family." Aes retorted.

"So you plan to live out a boring, apple-pie life just to be close to your family?" Ruby questioned. "Do you have a dream Aes? Something you want to do more than anything else in the world?"

"Yeah…to end racism." Aes muttered shyly. "Yeah, I know it sounds stupid, but so many people in the world hate Fishmen and Fishwomen, and I hate that! I've been picked on my entire life for being a Fishgirl, and it sucks!"

"So you wouldn't do anything to get that accomplished?" Lazarus challenged.

"Yeah, because being a pirate would totally help." Aes rolled her eyes. " 'Look, it's the Fishgirl pirate Aes! Man she is so good and has killed so many people Fishmen and Fishwomen must be nice people!'" She cheered in a mocking voice.

"She's got a point there…" Ruby muttered, biting her lower lip.

"But you could advocate for Fishmen's rights by fighting the biggest Fishman oppressor there is; the World Government." Lazarus replied. "Can you honestly say the World Government has done anything to help Fishpeople? They allowed Donquixote Doflamingo to establish a Slave House in Shabaody Archipelago years ago and let him continue it. The slave market is still lucrative in Shabaody, and they do nothing to stop it."

"No." Aes shook her head. "No, the World Government isn't the best system of government, true, but the Revolutionaries aren't exactly the greatest group of people are they? I mean, those guys are totally ruthless, they've only gotten worse since Monkey D. Dragon passed away. And his son didn't help with his actions, did he?"

"But Fisher Tiger was a pirate, and a lot of people looked up to him." Ruby countered. "He freed many slaves and everyone thanked him for it. Then he went and made some racist pirate crew but that's beside the point."

"Look guys, I just don't want to be pirate. I'm sorry if that conflicts with your plans, but nothing will change my mind." Aes apologized.

"Not even a threat against your life?" Lazarus tilted his head.

"I really doubt you could match me in strength." Aes grinned cockily. Ruby looked between her and Lazarus before giggling. "What's so funny?"

"I'd actually like to see a fight between you two." She admitted.

"Look, I have to play in a few minutes, so I'm going to go." The Fishgirl said, walking past the two pirates without even looking back.

"She is really…unafraid for a female." Lazarus noted with a smile. "She knows of her abilities, but she isn't too cocky about them. She just underestimated me, but that'll be something she will learn not to do in the future."

"Did you not hear her? She said nothing will change her mind about her not becoming a pirate Laz, and we women aren't as weak willed as men, when we plan something we'll stick with it." Ruby proclaimed. "We might as well leave."

"No." Lazarus countered. "She is so much more than I thought she was, now I'm determined to have her on our crew."

"What part of she said no do you not get captain? She doesn't want to be a pirate so she won't be a pirate, trust me!" Ruby growled. "I want her to be on our crew, I really want another girl on the crew, and a Fishgirl would be beneficial, but she declined."

"Ruby you go only to extremes, you know that?" Lazarus growled. "Just calm down. We'll get her to join our crew, trust me. It'll just take a little convincing."


	9. Battle of the Bands III

**A/N: OMG you guys have got to hate me by now. I can't believe I let this go TWO DAMN MONTHS since I updated. Please forgive me, and here's a new chappie for your enjoyment.**

Chapter 9

"Alright guys, let's play." Aes said to her band mates, stepping on stage. "What should we play for the prelims? You guys got any ideas or should we just choose one randomly?"

"See?" Ruby turned to Lazarus, the two standing near the stage Aes had walked up on. "She has absolutely zero interest in being a pirate. Kidnapping isn't effective in making someone work for you! So what are you planning on doing?"

"I was thinking about manipulating her emotions into joining us. That or outright telling her she has to join us." Lazarus replied. "Vince what do you think?"

"Well," Vince started, making Ruby yell with surprise, "I think we shouldn't let her go. A Fishgirl that you want, a musician that Ruby wants, and a teammate to watch out backs that I want. We all want her to join, we just need to find out how to make her."

"My point exactly." Lazarus nodded his agreement. "She would be completely beneficial. But enough of that, we all agree on that point. We need to find a way to get her to join us."

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, the preliminary round of the Battle of the Bands will begin now!" An announcer shouted into a Telesnail, appearing on stage as if by magic. The large crowd the Amber Eyed Pirates had integrated themselves into cheered, leaving the three as the only unexcited people standing amidst the musical fans.

"Alright, first up are the Flying Fishes!" The man announced as Aes and her band stepped up to the mikes, each carrying their own instrument. Lazarus spotted two guitarists; Aes and a male, a male drummer, a bassist female and the leader singer, yet another female.

"Kind of ironic…a Fishgirl on the band named 'Flying Fishes'." Ruby chortled, flipping her hair. "You think these guys are any good, or no?"

"Doesn't matter." Lazarus replied.

"Alright, let's rock!" The female singer laughed cheerfully, as if she was at a party.

Wide awake, my mistake  
So predictable  
You were fake, I was great  
Nothing personal

I'm walking  
Who's laughing now?  
(Who's laughing, who's laughing now?)  
I'm wasted, wasting time  
You talk for hours  
But you're wasting lines  
A pretty face but the chase  
Ain't worth the prize

I'm gonna break your little heart  
Watch you take the fall  
Laughing all the way to the hospital  
'Cause there's nothing surgery can do  
When I break your little heart in two  
I'm gonna break your little heart in two

Party queen, cause a scene  
So ridiculous  
Little dress, maybe less  
So conspicuous

You're falling  
Who's crashing now?  
(Who's crashing, who's crashing now?)  
I'm wasted, wasting time  
I'm moving on  
But you're left behind  
A pretty face with the chace  
Ain't worth the price

I'm gonna break your little heart  
Watch you take the fall  
Laughing all the way to the hospital  
'Cause there's nothing surgery can do  
I'm gonna break your little heart  
Show you to the door  
Sew yourself shut  
Now you're begging for more  
'Cause there's nothing surgery can do  
When I break your little heart in two

Don't be so sentimental, no  
This is love is accidental, so  
Give it up  
This was never meant to be  
More than a memory for you

I'm gonna break your little heart  
Watch you take the fall  
Laughing all the way to the hospital  
'Cause there's nothing surgery can do  
(When I break your little heart in two)  
I'm gonna break your little heart  
Show you to the door  
Sew yourself shut  
Now you're begging for more  
'Cause there's nothing surgery can do  
When I break your little heart in two

"Hey, that was pretty friggin' awesome!" Ruby laughed, clapping her hands enthusiastically. She turned to look for Lazarus, but just saw Vince nodding appreciatively. "Hey, where'd Lazarus go to?"

* * *

The red headed captain slammed up against a wall of an alleyway, four Naval officers standing behind him, each with a pistol trained on him. Experience taught him that the bullets inside those pistols would be made of seastone.

"Lazarus, the World Government is getting tired of your charades." One of the officers growled. "They have ordered your immediate arrest. They've even placed a pretty big bounty on your head."

"I don't care much for what the World Government wants." Lazarus growled, turning to face the guards. "They don't order me around anymore. So go tell Admiral Ginhato and Dr. Frujerk that they can kiss my ass, I'm done." He moved to shove past them only for four pistols to press against his skull. "You can't kill me. The doctor wants me alive."

"He'll patch you up." One of them sneered.

"With a bullet through my brain?" Lazarus laughed mockingly. "Not even the good doctor is that amazing as to bring someone back from the dead!"

"Really?"

"You know what I mean." Lazarus hissed. "Now…let me go. Or you'll die." A few chuckles escaped the Marines' lips. "You want to test me?" He snarled.

"Sure…why not?" One of the men grinned. His grin slipped and all four Marines looked in his gut to see a knife buried to the hilt in his gut, the ruby blood slightly spilling out.

Three pistols shot off but two of the guards dropped to the ground dead, bullet holes smoldering between their eyebrows. The fourth, and last living Marine officer, backed up against a wall only for Lazarus to materialize in front of him, his hand lashing out to wrap around the man's throat.

"I want to thank the doctor, I really do." Lazarus smiled, lifting the man from the ground. "But…he wants me to do something I don't want to. I'm already looking for the Archangel Swords for him, what else does he want from me? As soon as I find those he better be done with me." Lazarus tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Wait, why am I telling you this? You're going to be dead."

Lazarus squeezed until the man's face began to turn purple and smiled, bringing his hand up and waving happily. The man began frothing at the mouth and started kicking violently before he went deathly still.

Dropping the man to the ground Lazarus turned and left the alleyway, spotting Ruby and Vince looking around for him. Calmly walking towards them, Lazarus thought about the poster he had in his pocket.

_They want that much to bring me back?_ Lazarus thought, amazed and proud at the same time. _If the Government wants me back they better send an armada. Some cold hard cash wouldn't hurt either._

"Hey, where'd you go to?" Ruby asked her captain. "Did you at least hear Aes play? She was friggin' brilliant!"

"I was dragged away before I could hear them." Lazarus answered truthfully. "But on to more pressing business, I don't think we should stay in town for long."

"Is there a Marine presence here?" Vince questioned.

"Yes. And they know I'm here. Also," Lazarus pulled out his poster and held it up for them to see, "they have a hefty bounty put on my head."

**Wanted Alive**

"**Amber Eyed" Lazarus**

**55,000,000 Berries**

"Holy shit!" Ruby screeched, spotting the bounty. "That's your first bounty?" She pointed at the reward, Lazarus nodding. "Damn dude, what'd you do to them?"

"Nothing important." Lazarus answered, stuffing the poster back into his pocket. "But we need to quickly recruit Aes and continue moving. Should we make it to the Grand Line we will be safe. It is filled with pirates with higher bounties than my own, but now I am the most wanted man in the North Blue."

"Don't brag or anything." Ruby rolled her eyes. "Well what about Aes? Should we just forget her and make a dash for the Grand Line?" She seemed hesitant to do so.

"No, Aes needs to join our crew. We just need to hasten the time of her recruitment." Lazarus insisted. "Now, would you say her musical talent is well enough for her to be a musician on our crew or just a savior for our Devil Fruit users?"

"Both." Vince and Ruby insisted.

"Alright…how should we go about getting her to join our crew?" Lazarus asked, motioning for the two of them to follow him as he began to walk.

"We've already went over this, she's adamantly refusing!" Ruby groaned. "The only way I can see to make her join us is to show her she isn't the best here, and if not here than certainly not the best in the world."

"I have no musical talents." Lazarus responded. "So unless you two are musicians yourselves, therefore making this entire search for one pointless, than we have no way of guaranteeing she will fail this activity."

"Wow, for someone as cold and calculating as you make yourself out to be you can't really have not considered sabotage." Ruby smirked. Lazarus looked at her for a continued explanation and she smiled. "If we guarantee she doesn't win she will know she isn't nearly as good as she thought she is. Therefore we just have to make sure she doesn't win."

"How?" Vince challenged.

"Simple. We just move the crowd against her group, and if we have to, mess with the equipment during the shows."

"And how would that work exactly? Each of the Telesnails responsible for broadcasting the music is located on stage; we wouldn't exactly blend in with the security if we walked up and began tampering with it." Lazarus retorted.

"Well no duh, that's why we'd have to find a way to do it subtly." Ruby groaned. "Like…Vince could shoot the Telesnails, you could throw a knife and cut some strings…stuff like that."

"You could urinate on stage." Lazarus mused, earning a punch upside the head.

"SICK FREAK!" Ruby screeched, her eyes burning with anger.

"I guess I deserved that." He relented, rubbing the bump on his head sorely. "But you could run on stage and bite them, chase them around, something to that affect."

"And how would what we do be of any help? Our actions would be immediately spotted." Vince argued.

"I'm not saying do it from the crowd, I'm saying do it stealthily, you know, so no one knows?" Ruby scowled. "Jeez, am I the only one who can think like a true sneaky pirate?"

"I like the direct approach." Lazarus said.

"I am a man of action."

"But I concede the point that we need stealth to get this job done." Lazarus contemplated. "So when do they play again?"

"Not sure, the judges have to pass the verdict on who passes the preliminaries, but I'm almost positive they'll make it." Ruby explained to her captain. "So we'll just wait and see."

"And if we miss our chance and they win the entire thing?" Vince challenged.

"Is there even the slightest chance the three of us would miss that?" Ruby shot back. "We're pretty smart as far as pirates go Vince, I'm pretty damn sure we wouldn't miss an entire tournament style band competition."

"What if she's just jinxed us?" Vince asked his red headed captain.

"Jinxing involves luck, something I personally do not believe in." Lazarus countered. "We won't miss every opportunity to sabotage her band Vince, maybe one or two but not all."

"Alright, let's walk around and try to be inconspicuous." Vince suggested. With nods of agreement the three pirates set off to blend in with the crowd of people that had been attracted to the island for the music but stayed for the entertainment that came from the skirmishes that broke out between rival bands.


	10. Battle of the Bands IV

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, but here's the next chappie!**

Chapter 10

Say your prayers little one  
Don`t forget my son  
To include everyone  
I tuck you in  
Warm within  
Keep you free from sin  
'til the sandman he comes

Sleep with one eye open  
Gripping your pillow tight

Exit light  
Enter night  
Take my hand  
We're off to never never-land

Something's wrong, shut the light  
Heavy thoughts tonight  
And they aren't of Snow White  
Dreams of war  
Dreams of liars  
Dreams of dragons fire  
And of things that will bite, yeah

Sleep with one eye open  
Gripping your pillow tight

Exit light  
Enter night  
take my hand  
We're off to never never-land

Now I lay me down to sleep  
Now I lay me down to sleep

Pray the lord my soul to keep  
Pray the lord my soul to keep

If I die before I wake

If I die before I wake  
Pray the lord my soul to take

Pray the lord my soul to take

Hush little baby don't say a word  
And never mind that noise you heard  
It's just the beasts under your bed  
In your closet and in your head

Exit light  
Enter night  
Grain of sand

Exit light  
Enter Night  
Take my hand!  
We're off to never never-land

Yeah, ha ha ha

Boom

Yeah, yeah  
oh, whoa

We're off to never never-land

Take my hand  
We're off to never never-land  
Take my hand  
We're off to never never-land

We're off to never never-land

"Man, those guys could really give Aes's band a run for their money, huh?" Ruby laughed, clapping as the black clad teenagers walked off stage to much protest from the crowd.

"If only one of them was a Fishman." Lazarus mused, shaking his head appreciatively. "But since none are we'll stick with Aes."

"So glad to hear I still meet your standards." A familiar voice said from behind the trio. They turned to see a smiling Fishgirl looking at them, a smirk on her face. "So, you still looking to recruit me?" She asked them.

"Yep." Ruby smiled. "And we've decided that we really want you, so no chance of us leaving without you, don't worry."

"I'd be willing to join you guys." She offered to the shock of the pirates. "On three conditions. First, you don't make me kill anyone, I couldn't handle the guilt. Second, you let me finish this competition. Third…no, I think the first two cover everything." Aes nodded.

"So you'd be willing to leave your parents and home to help a couple of strangers?" Lazarus questioned, prompting a groan and face slap from his blond companion.

"Well my parents have long since abandoned me and I've been raised by foster parents," Aes muttered, "and the people here aren't exactly friendly with half-Fishpeople."

"You're not a full Fishgirl?" Vince said with shock, his eyes widening.

"Predominantly Fishgirl, but yeah, I'm a half-breed, as many people love to remind me." Aes shot back bitterly. "When a Fishman and human female mate, or vice-versa, the offspring is more Fishperson than human. I'm not as strong as a regular Fishwoman would be, but still stronger than most humans would naturally be. Of course those humans that train to become strong could outdo me."

"I couldn't tell you were half-Fishgirl." Lazarus answered truthfully. "I doubt many humans could; a Fishperson could. The parents of the children here must've known your parents and told their children."

"Doesn't matter, they don't like me." Aes grumbled. "My only friends are my band mates, and I'm almost positive that they wouldn't miss me much if I left."

"I doubt that." Ruby smiled politely. "They truly seem to like you."

"Nevertheless, your scheme to sabotage our band can be cancelled." Aes informed the three, much to their continued shock. "I'm not an idiot, I know pirates aren't the most honorable bunch."

"Oh contraire, we have a sense of honor. But when we see something we like we go after it, no matter what." Lazarus informed her. "And it was her idea in the first place." He continued, pointing at Ruby, whose jaw dropped as she starred at him.

"Traitor!" She roared.

"I see. Well we'll just watch and wait for this to be over with." Lazarus informed the Fishgirl. "And when it is, we'll leave with our newest crewmember and musician."

"Don't worry guys." Aes smiled. "I don't break my promises."

"Good, because that would not be a good tradition with pirates." Lazarus retorted. "Now, let's get back to the ship and patiently wait." He ordered the crew.

* * *

"Do you think she'll actually keep her promise?" Ruby turned to her two crewmates as they lounged about the ship deck.

"Of course she will Ruby, she isn't a good liar." Lazarus countered. "You can tell by the way she honestly answered to pirates. No one in their right mind would do that if they could get away with it. She realized she couldn't and told the truth."

"That doesn't mean she can't lie." Ruby pointed out. "That might just mean she decided to tell the truth, but she could decide not to follow up on it."

"Then we'll kidnap her." Vince suggested. "After the contest and we'll make sure to keep both of her conditions in check. That solves our little dilemma."

"No it doesn't." Ruby insisted. "What if she alerts the Marines that we're here and sets up a sting for us when we come for her after the competition?"

"Then we kill them and take her." Lazarus reasoned. "Any way we look at this we get the girl Ruby." He looked out on the horizon and sighed. "And then we'll head towards the Grand Line."

"I'm worried." Ruby answered truthfully. "I just got a bad feeling in my gut, y'know?" She turned to them hopefully only to be shot down by them shaking their heads. "Ugh…it's just a feeling that something is going to happen here."

"Yeah, I'm going to walk downstairs and go to sleep if you don't stop worrying." Lazarus snapped. "Honestly, you doubt our abilities to get what we want?"

"You wouldn't understand." Ruby grumbled with a roll of her eyes. "I'm going to go to my room and take a nap." She said, stalking out of sight.

"What was that all about?" Vince shook his head in disbelief, polishing off his gun. "Why is she worried about something if we're not?"

"Women." Lazarus answered with a shrug. The two continued lounging around the deck, silent and thoughtful as more music erupted from the island. "I guess another band is playing."

"No…the sound's familiar. I think we might have heard this band." Vince deduced. "Do you want to go listen or should we stay here?" He asked his captain.

"I don't care either way." The red head shrugged, his amber eyes scouting the horizon. "There's something off…I feel it now." He whispered, never taking his gaze away from the horizon.

"You think something's coming?" Vince questioned, walking over to the railing next to his captain.

"Something is coming." Lazarus stated, his finger rising to point off to the distance. Vince followed his point and saw a black flag in the distance. "Pirates." The fifty-five million bounty pirate captain whispered, a grin tugging at his mouth.

"Do we meet them and take them down?" Vince wondered aloud.

"We'll let them come to town." Came the reply. "And Aes will help take them down." He grinned.

"She doesn't want to fight captain."

"She doesn't want to kill." Lazarus reminded his Second Mate. "But she can't get around fighting as a pirate and she knows that."

"Well what is our plan? Just let them land before taking them out?" Vince questioned.

"Yup." Lazarus nodded. "I'm going to let Ruby sit out on this one." He decided abruptly. "Now what to do…" He mused, leaning forward, his brow furrowing as he began to formulate his plan.

* * *

"Dang it!" Aes yelled as the pirates threw a torch onto a building, setting the wooden structure ablaze in an instant.

"He should be here captain…our reports put him here yesterday." One of the pirates said, showing the man Aes assumed was the captain a picture.

"Mhm…that's him alright, brat never did know how to hide himself when he didn't want to be found." The captain nodded his head, pointing his finger at one of the buildings. "He'll show himself…his morals always did get in the way of being a pirate."

A green liquid sprayed out of the man's hand, and Aes watched as it flew past her face on the other side of the building, having melted completely through the wood and stone.

"Where are you Cross D. Lazarus?" The man roared, swinging about.

"Well, well well Barbarossa…long time no see." A familiar voice came. Aes turned to see two pirates walk through the flames, Lazarus grinning eagerly. "How's the crew?"

"Ahh…the traitor emerges." Barbarossa growled, drawing his blade. "How long has it been now?"

"About twelve years." Lazarus smiled. "Doesn't it strike you as odd that he would send you after me, Barbarossa?"

"He wants you dead Lazarus, that's all that matters to me." Barbarossa smiled. "So do I get to kill you easily?"

"Where in the universe has someone allowed themselves to be killed? Neither in fiction nor life has someone ever given up and let themselves be killed by the bad guy; why would I be the first?" Lazarus grinned.

"Fine, then-"

"Shut it!" Lazarus roared, charging forward and tackling Barbarossa, knocking him into the building behind the pirate captain. Vince stepped forward when two pirates, each in a one piece suit, one red one blue, stepped in front of him, each holding two scimitars.

"Nuh uh uh!" One of them grinned.

"We're the Scimmy Twins!"

"And we're going-"

"To make you mincemeat!"

Vince ducked and leaped backwards as both of the pirates swung their swords at him, the silver blades flashing with deadly precision as they tried to strike the nimble gunner.

"Got you!" The red twin roared, throwing his scimitar at Vince as he was in mid-leap.

Vince knocked it aside with his gun before aiming at the red twin only to realize too late the blue twin had leaped up to be next to him and was ready to hack him into pieces.

Aes cut through the air and tackled the blue Scimmy Twin, knocking her to the ground.

"I honestly could not tell you were a girl." Aes smiled at the blue twin, who grinned.

"In a fight sex isn't important. What's important is the fight!" She laughed, swinging her sword. Aes ducked and spun about, her leg knocking the swordswomen off her feet before the Fishgirl jumped back to avoid being cut.

"We knew you'd step in." Vince muttered when he and Aes grouped up back-to-back. "Actually I was willing to gamble my life that you would."

"Don't be so smug about it; I told you three I keep my promises." Aes muttered, flipping her hair out of her face as she kept her guard up. "So shall we split up?"

"Sure." Vince shot his gun at the red twin before leaping up to a window on the second story of a building and ducking inside.

"You gut her good sis!" The red Scimmy Twin cheered before following Vince into the burning building.

"Big Bro gave me an order." The blue twin growled. "I hate it when he does that!" She screeched, leaping at the Fishgirl.


	11. Battle of the Bands V

Chapter 11

"C'mon!" The Red Scimmy-twin yelled, his scimitars cutting through the wood around him viciously as he looked around for his prey. "Where are you?" He muttered, his fingers twitching.

The room he stood in was dark, very dark. There were cubic, wooden pillars throughout the room, big enough for a grown man to hide behind. Some boxes labeled "Explosives" sat in the corner of the room, coated in cobwebs and dust. Red frowned, apparently no one had been here in a while.

Vince rolled out from behind a pillar and fired a shot before leaping away, vanishing behind another pillar in a flash. Red ducked beneath the bullet, his eyes scanning the area around him. Vince was cloaked in dark colors, perfect for fighting in an environment such as this, while he was wearing a bright red suit.

Red twirled his scimitar around dangerously, thinking this over carefully. Had it been dumb luck that led Vince here, or had these pirates known about Barbarossa's scheme and planned the confrontation out?

"If you're wondering why I haven't killed you," Red called out loudly, looking around, "it's because I have a few questions for you." He leapt forward, swinging his scimitar at a pillar, sticking the silver blade into the wood with a heavy thunk. "Did you know we were coming?" He asked as he released his sword.

"No idea." Vince answered from the darkness. Red spun around, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the opponent he faced. "I'm still not exactly sure who you guys are to be honest." He said. "Lazarus didn't seem so excited to see your boss…what is their relationship?"

"Our boss used to be Lazarus's, or so I've heard." Red replied. "Lazarus has been a pirate for years, and he used to serve for our boss's boss, one of the deadliest captains in the New World." A sadistic grin spread across the scimitar twin's face. "But according to what we've been told Lazarus was never this…cruel."

"Huh…that does not sound like my captain at all." Vince muttered. "Lazarus is cold and precise, willing to do anything to win a fight." Popping out from behind a corner he let loose three shots before ducking behind a pillar.

Red rolled to the side as soon as he had spotted movement, narrowly dodging the bullets. His scimitar went through little circles as he anxiously waited for the next attack. If he took to the shadows maybe he could emulate the sniper's strategy and come out on top of this little encounter.

"This is annoying." Red announced. "I can't be expected to walk around here all day and wait for you to pick me off." He vanished behind his own pillar, leaving both combatants without knowledge of the other's position.

Vince growled as he reloaded his pistol. Of course he had expected his opponent to take advantage of the shadows as well, but he didn't expect him to keep missing his opponent. This was getting ridiculous, he had to end it soon.

Vince took one of his bullets and turned around his pillar, giving a quick scan of the room. Several boarded up windows surrounded the room and plenty of explosives filled the room. If he could get out and leave a flare behind this entire building would go up in flames in an instant.

_But that would be cheap…and this guy would probably expect it…_ Vince thought to himself. _Any good opponent would have considered that as a threat and moved to prevent it._

"Watch your back!" Red screamed, slashing at Vince from the sniper's blindside. The pale man roared in pain as the metal slashed into his flesh, letting blood drip down his coat before he lifted a leg and kicked the twin.

"**Disarming Shot**!" Vince shouted, firing his gun at Red. A blood-curdling shriek filled the air as the bullet penetrated Red's hand, the flesh giving way to the intrusion of mind-numbing pain. Scimitar dropped Red had no chance but to flee into the shadows, leaving a small trail of blood behind along with his only weapon.

_Screw honor._ Vince thought, running towards the window. Firing off three shots he loosened the boards before diving through, turning in mid-air for one last attack.

"**Blaze Shot**!" Vince yelled, firing a blazing bullet back into the building. The building exploded, fire licking the windows as Vince tucked into a roll on the ground to lessen the impact.

Getting to his feet, gripping his wound tightly, Vince turned to watch the burning building with a smirk.

"Why so giddy?" Red growled, appearing next to Vince, his scimitar in hand. "**Red Rush**!" He yelled, swinging his scimitar wildly. Vince threw his arms up, dropping his gun and yelling as slices ripped across his skin and clothing before a foot connected with his arms, sending him flying backwards.

"Damnit…" Vince muttered, reaching behind him to grab another of his guns.

"Uh-huh." Red smirked, his scimitar pricking Vince's neck, a sadistic smile spreading across his features. Vince stared into the soulless, icy-blue eyes that would end his life, just now noticing how young this one truly was.

"So…this is the end…" Vince muttered, shutting his eyes. Red pulled his sword back for the decisive slash when another sword flew out and caught his.

"Like it?" Ruby grinned, holding her gold-handled and silver bladed weapon expertly. "It's called a kopesh, or sickle-sword. Very handy, and very deadly." Ruby lifted a leg and brought it across Red's face, sending him sprawling across the ground. "Vince, you're in a sorry state." She said to the marksman. "I thought you would have some basic training in fist-to-fist combat."

"Never needed it." Vince grunted, getting to his feet, grabbing his pistol from its tucked away position in his belt behind him. "Now I'm going to end this snot right here." He growled, stepping forward only to be stopped by Ruby's blade.

"No." She commanded. "I'll take him on." She grunted.

"Big mistake." Vince said, taking a step backwards.

"I can handle it." She assured the marksman. Red growled as he twirled his sword about.

"So…" Ruby raised her sword to ear level, holding her left hand out in a manner of invitation. "Let's skip the invitations and get started, hm?"

"**Red Flash**!" Red yelled, becoming a blur as he pounced forward, his sword moving in a crescent fashion. Ruby raised her blade and thrust forward, deflecting the attack before retaliating with a thrust of her own.

"Weak." Ruby laughed, shifting into her half-fox form, smiling craftily. "**Fox Punch**." She whispered, smashing her fist into Red's face, sending him backwards.

"**Red Scare**!" The pirate yelled, digging his blade into the ground, the metal bending before catapulting him forward, his blade a whirl as he meant to slice up his target.

"**Kamakitsune**!" Ruby shouted, ducking underneath Red, lashing out and catching his chin with her heel, sending him upwards. A flurry of elegant sword slashes and thrusts followed, hitting the red scimitar wielding square in the chest.

"GAHHH!" Red screeched horribly, his body covered in numerous cuts that bled profusely. The pirate hit the ground, screaming and crying as he laid on the ground, unable to move from the intense pain that radiated throughout his body.

"He's done." Ruby muttered softly, reverting to her human form and sheathing her sword. "He's no threat to us-WHAT THE HELL?"

Vince blew on the smoking barrel of his gun, having shot the red scimitar twin in the head.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" Ruby screeched, facing Vince angrily. "HE WAS A DEFENSELESS BOY!"

"He tried to kill us Ruby, the both of us. And he was a pirate, like us. One less threat in the world, don't you think?" He offered as an explanation, turning sharply on his heel to walk away.

Ruby frowned unhappily at this turn of events. Murder wasn't her thing, yet Vince seemed to natural about it, as if it had been a bug he had squashed, not a human life he had snuffed out. With a hesitant sigh Ruby followed the second mate.

* * *

"Holy shit…are you alright Aes?" Ruby asked the Fishgirl as she stumbled up to them.

"Fine." She muttered, covering her left eye with one of her webbed hands. "Stupid Blue got a good shot in, that's all." She winced as she spoke.

"Here, move your hand…" Ruby said, observing the wound.

"**Giganta ****Tranĉaĵo**!" Lazarus roared. The crew turned to see their captain, armed only with a hanger sword and missing his red duster. Suddenly the building Lazarus had tackled his opponent into split in two before collapsing upon itself, Lazarus walking calmly away.

"Woah…that was…uh…" Ruby muttered, staring at the dusting building.

"Worthless." Lazarus muttered, snapping the hanger sword in half and tossing it away. "I need a new blade." He said to his crew before smiling. Ruby and Vince were taken aback; he wasn't smirking, or grinning superiorly, he was genuinely smiling.

"Why are you smiling?" Ruby asked suspiciously. She hadn't seen him smile since they had met up once again. The red haired man turned to her, his smile fading just a little, but not enough to hide his mirth.

"Oh I just got what I wanted from the fight, that's all." He told them. "What? I can't be happy?"

"No." Vince and Ruby said simultaneously. Lazarus's smile fell off his face and he slouched.

"Thanks a lot guys."


	12. Battle of the Bands VI

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry it's been so long but been dealing with a break-up...anyway, this chapter was done for a while, and I was rather excited to share it with you. Aes's fighting techniques came pretty easily to mind, unlike Vince or Ruby's, hahaha.**

Chapter 12

Aes flipped backwards onto her hands and pushed off the ground to avoid the blue girl's frenzied sword swings that were aiming to chop off her hands. As she landed she spun on her right leg, her left ankle flying at the blue's head.

Realizing the danger the blue Scimmy Twin ducked underneath the kick before spinning around, dragging her scimitars across the ground and slicing upward at Aes. The Fishgirl once again jumped back, avoiding the narrow tips of the blades and landing several feet, away, both combatants breathing heavily.

"You're good at running away!" The blue Scimmy twin snarled, running her swords up against each other, making a grating sound Aes found highly annoying. "But how long will it be before I have gutted fish in front of me?"

"Forever, because you'll never kill me." Aes spat angrily before taking a deep breath, trying to keep her cool. "Just leave before I have to hurt you." She asked the blue girl in front of her.

"HAHA, you hurt me? You've done nothing but dodge! All those tales of Fish-freaks cannot be true if this is all you are capable of!" The blue Scimmy twin sneered.

Aes felt anger beginning to build up in her chest, leading her to snarl angrily at the jab of her heritage. "Don't make fun of Fishpeople you elitist bitch!" She snarled, her eyes narrowing as she began to focus all her anger into fighting the woman that was harassing her viciously. "I'm warning you to stop this right now."

"And I'm telling you I'm going to cut and skin you!" The blue lady yelled, leaping forward. "**Blue Slice**!" She yelled, a frosty mist beginning to rise from her scimitar before she made a slashing movement that sent a crescent form of frosty mist that hurtled at Aes. The Fishgirl moved out of the way, her eyes following the projectile and watching as it carved into a building behind her, the gouge frosting over seconds later.

"What the hell? What kind of Devil Fruit did you eat?" Aes asked warily, taking a cautionary step back.

"This is no Devil Fruit, it's the power of the Grand Line." The blue girl smirked cynically, swinging her swords around. "My brother thinks he's the better fighter…but he cannot do half of what I can do."

Aes tried to calm herself and think rationally about this. This was far from her first fight, but she had never fought a pirate, especially one who had survived the Grand Line! She could get an advantage if she got to the water…but what if their ship was there?

"You're stalling." Blue stated, twirling her blades around. Her green eyes flashed with delight. "You want to know something." She grinned before continuing. "My brother will be here soon. As soon as he kills those freak friends of yours he'll find me and we'll kill you."

"So you think he'll be able to beat my new crewmates?" Aes scoffed. "Trust me, they aren't pushovers, even if they aren't from the Grand Line. All I have to worry about is beating you."

"**Frost Slash**!" Blue yelled, slicing her scimitar across the ground. A trail of frost erupted from the tip and slid across the ground at Aes.

"**Shield**!" Aes shouted, dropping to her knee and punching the ground in one fluid motion, breaking a large chunk of the cement free and holding it in front of her. The mist hit the cement and froze it over, Aes's hands surviving the frosty bite. "**Discus**!" Aes shouted, spinning around and releasing the cement slab, letting it fly towards Blue.

Blue squeaked as the slab hit her dead in the chest, both flying backwards and crashing into the ground. Aes stood up properly, tilting he head to the side to check if her opponent was still alive. She sighed as Blue stood up, blood trickling down the side of her mouth. Reaching up Blue wiped it away before crouching down low, her eyes ablaze with absolute fury.

"You bitch! Who do you think you are, attacking me like that?" She snarled. "If we're going for the kill, than you are going to regret raising the stakes!"

"Sad thing was, I wasn't going for a kill." Aes answered. "I don't kill."

"**Blue Blaze**!" Blue yelled, spinning around before slashing her swords in an X shape. Two blasts of heat fired from the ridges, flying at Aes. Squatting down Aes leapt into the air as hard as possible, flipping around to avoid the blasts of heat.

Landing Aes took three large steps before propelling herself through the air. "**Fish Kick**!" She shouted, her right foot leading her. Blue stepped to the side and Aes dug into the cement, leaning down and planting a firm hand on it before putting her other hand down and spinning around. "**Fish Gear**!"

Blue yelped as two powerful feet smashed into her forearms, sending a warm bolt of pain down her arm and knocking her swords out of her grip. Doing a side flip Blue turned back and leapt at her foe, spinning. "**Blue Hurricane**!"

The two legs collided, knocking Aes off balance and Blue off of her feet. The two hit the ground with a large groan, Aes noticing the buildings around them were starting to catch fire. Getting up the Fishgirl saw Blue grab her swords from a flip, landing and twirling them, as if testing their weight.

_Better end this quick…these buildings could start coming down on us._ Aes thought, readying herself for another attack. Blue twirled the swords around once more, grinning sadistically.

"You know, this is more fun than I had hoped. I mean, the Grand Line is full of powerful people, and the four Blues…well, aren't. But you're actually making me sweat…this is quite the pleasant surprise." She grinned.

"Oh thank you for the kind words." Aes rolled her eyes sarcastically. "I hate elitists like you." She reminded Blue. "Later."

Blue watched as Aes turned and fled, dashing away without looking behind her. Blue hesitated for only a moment before taking pursuit, swords swinging ferociously.

* * *

"That was your big plan?" Blue panted as she stopped a few meters away from Aes, the docks they were standing on distinctly empty, with no boats in sight. "Move the battle to the docks?"

"You don't get it huh?" Aes smirked, seeing Blue stand on the wood.

"Oh I get it." Blue smiled evilly. "You didn't want your dead body to be found, so you moved out here so after I kill you I can throw your body into the ocean."

"Boy you're dense." Aes raised one leg above her shoulder and brought it down with a yell. As her heel smashed into the wood and giant grating sound erupted throughout the air before the dock collapsed. The Fishgirl fell into the water while Blue leapt back with a smile.

"HAHAHAHA you thought I would fall for that?" Blue screeched, watching the water. "Now why don't you come on out and get scaled? Grilled fish sounds delicious right now…"

"**Water Pole**!" Aes roared underwater, thrusting her open palm forward. The water in front of her jetted out of the water, the solid beam striking Blue in the left shoulder, earning a loud crack as her scapula broke. Blue released a scream of agony as her entire arm went entirely numb and her scimitar dropped from her arm. Aes surfaced on the water, putting her palms on the surface. "**Propulsion**!"

Aes flew through the air, her left hand cupping some water precariously. Pulling back Aes threw her hand forward with all her might. "**Aquashot**!" She roared, the water droplets flying out of her hand. Blue screeched as holes coated her body, small enough to be nonlethal but painful enough to drop her to one knee.

Landing the Fishgirl shook her head pitifully at the sobbing pirate in front of her. She hadn't wanted to take it this far, Aes had only wanted to disable the girl, not seriously injure her. But they had both agreed to escalate the fight, and now the other girl knew not to raise the stakes unless she was willing to pay the price of losing.

Turning around Aes began walking away, head hung. "Stop right there!" A voice squealed. Aes turned to see Blue standing up, blood splattering her outfit as she pointed her scimitar at the Fishgirl. "We aren't through here!"

"Yes we are. You can barely stand. Go get medical attention, I don't want to fight you anymore." Aes stated, turning back again. Footsteps made her turn to her regret as a scimitar carved into the tender flesh below her eye. Screaming with agony and rage Aes quickly spun her body around, her right leg coming out and rocketing into Blue's gut, knocking the wind and a considerable amount of blood out of her mouth before she flew backwards. Blue hit the water and flipped over it like a well-tossed rock, bouncing a few more times before sinking into the water.

Aes felt all her rage vanish to be replaced by immense agony. The Fishgirl cupped her right eye, feeling the blood decant down her face. Tears worked her way to both eyes but she fought them off, walking to find her new crew and friends.

* * *

Aes spotted Ruby yelling at Vince about something, but she couldn't pick it up. Suddenly the shorter female turned and spotted Aes headed towards them. "Holy shit…are you alright Aes?" Ruby asked the Fishgirl as she stumbled up to them.

"Fine." She muttered, covering her left eye with one of her webbed hands. "Stupid Blue got a good shot in, that's all." She winced as she spoke.

"Here, move your hand…" Ruby said, observing the wound. She winced visibly but nodded. "It should be ok. Not too deep but it'll definitely be a scar…is there a doctor here?"

Before Aes could reply Vince nodded behind them. "**Giganta ****Tranĉaĵo**!" Lazarus roared, making the crew turn to see their captain, armed only with a hanger sword and missing his red duster. Suddenly the building Lazarus had tackled his opponent into split in two before collapsing upon itself, Lazarus walking calmly away.

"Woah…that was…uh…" Ruby muttered, staring at the dusting building.

"Worthless." Lazarus muttered, snapping the hanger sword in half and tossing it away. "I need a new blade." He said to his crew before smiling. Ruby and Vince were taken aback; he wasn't smirking, or grinning superiorly, he was genuinely smiling.

"Why are you smiling?" Ruby asked suspiciously. She hadn't seen him smile since they had met up once again. The red haired man turned to her, his smile fading just a little, but not enough to hide his mirth.

"Oh I just got what I wanted from the fight, that's all." He told them. "What? I can't be happy?"

"No." Vince and Ruby said simultaneously. Lazarus's smile fell off his face and he slouched.

"Thanks a lot guys."

"Yo can someone take me to get stitches before I die of blood loss?" Aes screamed angrily.


	13. It's over

**Hey guys, Tsar Lawrence III here with my final author's note. I'm here to say**

**This fic is dead.**

**I'm sorry, but I just don't feel like writing anymore, actually I don't feel like living. After getting into a really great relationship she dumped me and now I just feel like shit. I've wanted to kill myself for a while now but I'm just too fucking chicken to do it, so I'm checking myself into a mental hospital for psychiatric evaluation before I do something I'll regret, which I will because despite not being quite religious I do believe in Hell and I do not want to end up there for eternity.**

**Will I ever finish this fic? I'm 99% positive I'll never be back on this site. I've just lost my inspiration for anything right now, and I feel like this has become more and more of a burden than a joy to write.**

**How would it have ended?**

**Would it have ever? One Piece might be one of those manga's that we will never see the end of because the author wants more and more moneys, so it would just keep going on and on. Needless to say Lazarus and his crew would have sometimes crossed over with Luffy's adventures, but most of the time I'd come up with their own adventures and villains to defeat.  
**

**I know the few of you that still read this will probably be pissed with me, and I'm truly sorry, but I just don't feel like writing more and more to finish this story, this one of the many One Piece stories I've tried. If you want I will point you towards a few good authors whom I've met on this website.**

**Galalithial **- **If he would ever get off his lazy ass and write again, this man has a great story called _Black Butterflies_ that I was quite an avid fan of. I would highly recommend all of you checking him out.**

**Project Alpha - This is my IRL friend whom has kept me company through all the times. He is my closest and dearest of friends I've pointed to this site and helped with his writing. He's much better than I am at writing and is just as creative, in fact I can credit most of _The Day Before Spring_'s plot to his ingenuity which some have pointed out holds similarities with a T.V. series called _Supernatural_...well he is a big fan but I've never seen it so I guess I'll have to take your words for it. Anyway he is just starting out here but has quite a few stories lined up for you guys so please do go check his stories out.**

**The Dude of Doom - He writes both One Piece and Pokemon fanfiction, and while his early stories are kind of grammatically challenging he has vastly improved over the course of his career [sorry for the bluntness dude:(]. His stories, however, are well worth reading.**

**Well that about wraps this up. Again, I'm TRULY TRULY SORRY for any of you who read my stories, liked them for whatever reason and wanted me to continue, but writing this I just know I'll never be back here. I originally planned to just delete my stories but I'd like to guess that some of you would like to keep reading them even if they will remain incomplete...**

**Good-bye forever,**

**Tsar Lawrence III  
**


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